Twin Cities Apartment Availability Seen Tight

MINNEAPOLIS-Apartment rents are up nearly 10 percentacross-the-board in the Twin Cities, with central cityapartments seeing the most dramatic increases. The combination of fast population growth andsparse new construction will mean a continued rental rate rises and only a slight rise invacancy rates from their present level at 1.5 percent, experts say.

Apartment rents were up 9.7 percent last year to anaverage monthly rate of $751, according to Pat Smith,an apartment sales specialist with Coldwell BankerBurnet in Minneapolis. The biggest increases were seenin Minneapolis, up 16 percent, and St. Paul, up 12percent.

Vacancy rates, meanwhile, averaged about 1.5 percent,although some submarkets like Woodbury are in the 3.5percent to 4.5 percent range due to constructionactivity, Smith said.“In some cases, owners are passing on outrageousincreases in rents,” says Tom Cooper, a vicepresident and partner with the Minnesota BrokerageGroup.