The mood was decidedly optimistic at NMHC's Annual Meeting and Apartment Strategies Conference last week in Boca Raton, FL. While apartment professionals concede that 2010 will be another challenging year, all eyes are focused on 2011-2014, when demand from the echo boomers will materialize in a supply-constrained market that could produce above-average rent growth.
The consensus view is that the next decade will be great for apartments. They are seen as a preferred asset type for institutional investors, pricing is close to the bottom, and financing is available through the GSEs. As a result, apartments will be the first commercial real estate sector to recover. The outlook: vacancy improves in 2010, followed by rent growth in 2011.
