The positive vibe of the RealShare Apartments 2010 Conference is apparently long-lasting. Two months after the conference and with the elections behind us, professionals from all facets of the apartment industry seem to feel even better about the sector’s mid- and long-term prospects. Attended by more than 1200 industry professionals, Apartments 2010 was held Oct. 21 at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles.

Take the event’s opening session, “A Bird’s Eye View: Is Multifamily Tenancy Out of the Woods?” Panelist Greg Willett, vice president of research and analysis for MPF Research, was bullish then and says little has changed in his view of the market since October. “Demand this year has been much stronger than you would expect given the sluggish job growth,” he relates. “Apartments are picking up renters who are either coming out of shadow-market product or foreclosed homes as the economy gets better. There are good numbers on the demand side.”

While those numbers anticipate slightly lower occupancy than initially reported, Willett says demand will be strong as the new year begins. In October, he revealed that effective rents for new leases were up 2.6% from late 2009. More recently, Willett said the calendar year 2010 annual rent change number will be between 2.5% and 3%.