APARTMENT MARKET STATISTICS: July 2012

Data from the July 2012 Apartment Market Statistics section shows total returns fell for apartments, but permits are up‑and above the 200,000-unit level for the fifth straight month. Meanwhile, residential construction costs are now 13 percent above their recession lows. Condo and coop sales in the first quarter were 11 percent higher than the previous three quarters. However, financing increased at a lower rate than in the same period last year.

Returns fell for both multifamily and commercial real estate, to 2.79 and 2.59 percent respectively, according to numbers from National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries.

The rate at which new five-plus permits were issued registered a strong 24 percent increase to 262,000 units in March, marking the fifth consecutive month that the five-plus permit rate has been above 200,000 units, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).

Residential construction costs to 13 percent above their cyclical lows that occurred roughly midway through 2009. The 523,000 annualized rate of condo and co-op sales during the first quarter was an 11 percent improvement over the sales rate averaged over the previous three quarters, says NAHB.

According to numbers from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), financing volume increased 45 percent quarter to quarter in the first quarter, compared to an increase of 102 percent in the first quarter 2011. However, at an index of 141, financing volume matches the second and third quarters of last year’s levels.