Plots & Ploys: Nobody's Home

Wall Street Journal (10/08/08) P. C12; Frangos, Alex
A new Reis Inc. study confirms that the U.S. apartment-vacancy rate in this year's July-through-September period climbed for the third consecutive quarter, settling at 6.1 percent. Vacancies are on the rise even as the Census Bureau reports that homeownership has fallen to a seasonally adjusted rate of 68.1 percent from its 2004 peak of 69.3 percent. Reis researchers attribute this to apartment fundamentals being so closely linked to job growth. Weak employment numbers traditionally have meant more and more families doubling up with relatives and adult children remaining at home instead of moving out on their own.