S. Florida apartment market remains tight

S. Florida apartment market remains tight

South Florida apartment rental rate hikes may be slowing, though the market remains tighter than much of the country, according to a new report.

The vacancy rates for South Florida apartments remain much lower than the national average, but there are signs monthly rent increases are starting to ease, according to a report released Wednesday.

Vacancies in Miami-Dade and Broward counties were both at 3.8 percent for the first quarter that ended March 31, according to numbers released Wednesday by Reis, a national commercial real estate watcher. That compares to 6 percent nationally, the highest in almost two years.

Average rental rates in the first quarter still rose to $1,058 in Miami-Dade, up 1.6 percent from the previous quarter and 5.9 percent from the same time last year. For Broward the average was $1,051, up 0.6 percent from the pervious quarter and 5.2 percent from last year. However, the pace of the increases is slowing.