by Calculated Risk on 10/05/2010 11:59:00 PM

From Ilaina Jonas at Reuters: US apartment vacancy rate drops sharply in 3rd qtr

The national vacancy rate fell to 7.2 percent from 7.8 percent in the second quarter ...

Factoring months of free rent and other concessions landlords used to lure tenants, effective rent was up 0.6 percent to $980 per month, Reis said.

This is a significant decline from record vacancy rate set in Q1 at 7.9%. This decline fits with the recent survey from the NMHC that showed lower apartment vacancies.

It appears the vacancy rate for large apartment buildings (and rents) bottomed early this year. This is something to watch - and indicates the excess housing inventory (that includes both vacant homes and apartments) is being absorbed.

Note: the Reis numbers are for cities. The overall vacancy rate from the Census Bureau was at a near record 10.6% in Q2 2010.