Source:


Deaton Investment Real Estate & The Wake County Apartment Association



Thursday, May 17, 2007

I am somebody

Deaton was asked to provide the Triangle Market's Multi-family Snapshot for the May issue of Southeast Real Estate Business. While my name is on the by-line, T. Furlow in the office offered a good deal of market insight, as did the rest of the office. Anyway, here it is.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Easy there, fella.

Ah, the Blogger’s downfall: infrequent posting. At least I can say it was because I was too busy working and not too busy blogging to work. But I digress.

The Karnes Report is out. This is considered the de-facto source for real estate data in the Triangle, published quarterly by a local research firm. Guess what their name is? Anyway, things look solid for our region’s multi-family investment market. Here are some figures to note:

  • The Raleigh-Cary and Durham MSA added 14,645 jobs per year over the seven-year period ending March 2007.
  • A total of 4,429 units were under construction in the Triangle as of March 2007 and 539 units were completed over the last six months. Cary/Morrisville/Apex (CMA) reported the most activity.
  • At 7.8%, the Triangle’s vacancy rate decreased from the 8.3% reported in September 2006.
  • The current vacancy rate (see above) is the lowest reported since March of 1999, when it was 7.3%.
  • Average weighted rents increased 1.0% over the past 12 months. The average two-bedroom apartment in the Triangle (the most common unit type), experienced a 1.6% increase in base rents.

As I stated in an earlier post, we’re starting to see rents increase. Is this a good thing? Certainly. Can it be bad? Sort of. The problem on the front end of trends like this is that some investors are eager to jump into a property, crank up rents $100/month and wait for the phone to ring. Well, they’ll be waiting a while.

It’s important to let the market do its job. If landlords wait for rents to have a real legitimacy behind their increase, it’s going to create a more balanced market. And remember, this takes time. It took about five years for the Triangle-area to lead itself off the rent plateau and the last thing we need is over-eager apartment buyers jumping blindly into the abyss of rent-increase hysteria. We’ve seen it. It’s not pretty.

I guess my point is that when buying your next apartment property, keep abreast of these over-arching market trends but don’t react to them right away. Let the market drive your decisions because in the long run, that discipline will help you better predict market fluctuations and ultimately, be a more prepared and better educated investor.

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

A Billion Dollar Typo

The News & Observer published a nice article about the fact that rents are on their way up in the Triangle. Citing job growth, construction costs and a substantial increase in the general populace over the last decade, local real estate professionals and national investors alike see the area as one of the most desirable investment locations in the country.

If you've lived in the Triangle for a while, the growth here is hardly news. I mean, isn't that what brought you here? To bolster the article's thesis, an impromptu survey at a recent Wake County Apartment Association meeting indicated that the fair majority of apartment property owners in attendance had raised rents in the last 90 days. And these aren't the Class A, multiple-amenity institutional guys either---these are the independent owner/operators.

The article states that last year, investors paid a total of $1.1 million for area apartment properties---a Triangle record. Sort of. The actual number is $1.1 billion. Sure, it's a pretty meaningless typo. But the weight that figure carries---$1.1 billion---is pretty meaningful. With more than 10,000 total units planned and currently underway, institutional dollars will certainly continue to keep an eye on the region. So who knows, that record could be in jeopardy come 2008.

Thursday, May 3, 2007

Hello Blogosphere





Deaton
Investment Real Estate has always made an effort to serve the individual multi-family property investor in as many ways as possible. From our newsletter (which is still snail-mailed, by the way) to our new listing postcards to the Investor's Network, our aim to is provide several doors into the world of selling and investing in apartment properties.

Obviously, we're in this to help our business. Truthfully though, it helps our customers, too. We're proud of the fact that what we offer, ultimately, is a way for people to make more money through real estate. We're brokers, middlemen if you will, that serve a unique niche in the multi-family sector. If you've worked with us, you know we're not a typical real estate company. We don't over-sell and we don't personalize license plates--it is what it is at Deaton. We hope this blog is just another way for you to learn that about us and to learn about investing in multi-family property.

Expect posts on topics ranging from market trends, answers to questions we get on the phone each day, market news, pointers, tips, advice and general company announcements. While many of these may be posted by me (Craig Rowe, marketing guy) understand that all of the information is team-generated and authentic--we won't get overly promotional on you.

Then without further adieu, we welcome you, the experienced or aspiring individual multi-family investor, to the world of Deaton Investment Real Estate.