Report: Apartment rents in Las Vegas expected to decline

By Buck Wargo

Friday, Feb. 4, 2011 | 10:33 a.m.

Apartment rents in Las Vegas have stabilized along with the occupancy rate, but prices will continue to decline as long as the economy remains sluggish, according to a report released today by a research firm.

Applied Analysis reported average rents fell from $760 in the third quarter to $756 by the end of the year, marking a 1.8 percent decline from the fourth quarter of 2009 when the average rent was $770.

That’s the smallest annual decline in two years and much less than the nearly 13 percent drop between the fourth quarter of 2008 and 2009, the firm reported.

With unemployment rate at 14.9 percent in December and home prices continuing to erode, apartment owners are finding themselves forced to remain competitively priced, the firm reported.

“Pricing pressure will persist as banks control several thousand homes not yet listed for sale, residential foreclosure activity remains significant and distressed apartment sales transactions occur at discounted price points,” the firm said in its report.

The occupancy rate was 91.6 percent in the fourth quarter, down from 91.9 percent in the third quarter. It stood at 90.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009.

The highest rents were an average of $906 per month in the southwest valley. The northeast valley had the lowest monthly rents at $628, falling nearly 5 percent in the last year.

The southwest had the highest occupancy at 94.2 percent while the north valley had an 88.5 percent occupancy rate.