Apartment Vacancies Hit 10-Year Low

SAN DIEGO-The countywide apartment vacancy rate has fallen to a scant 1.6%, its lowest level in a decade, according to a new report from the San DiegoCounty Apartment Association.

The trade group says the drop recorded at the start of October came despite a wealth of new construction, particularly in the so-called luxury apartment market. A year earlier, the vacancy factor was 2%.

Despite the surge in construction of upscale units, community resistance toapartments and other infill development has thrown a wet blanket onmultifamily construction in general even as skyrocketing single-family homeprices and lack of affordability are sharpening demand for renteddwellings. Escalating development fees have also discouraged would-beapartment builders, according to Gail Scott, president of the apartmentassociation.