Say, a $99 move-in that covers deposit, application fee, and first month’s rent at Twin Oaks Apartments in Northwest Temple.
“I don’t know if it’s the economy . . . but occupancy seems to be dropping around the whole area. From the 10 apartment communities I keep in touch with, the average (occupancy) is about 89-90 percent,” said JoAnn Lorona, Twin Oaks manager.
Rick Mayfield, an apartment rental professional in Austin, said occupancy rates in Central Texas historically run in the mid 90s. When they drop to 90 percent, apartment owners can run into trouble.
Barbara Bozon, Central Texas Housing Consortium executive director, reported 91 percent occupancy rates for October, the last month they have on record. This figure includes a survey of 20 Temple apartment communities in which rents are not subsidized.
Statewide, the average apartment occupancy rate for October is 89.7 percent, according to the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.
However, two Temple apartment communities - Raintree and Adams Bend - are almost full at 99 percent. Ms. Bozon said affordable rents and possibly remodeling were factors.
On the upscale side, the Chappell Hill Apartment Community on Ira Young Drive in Temple is 97 percent full. Manager Pat Van Wert said they are expanding, putting the wraps on two new buildings with 48 units next door. Open house is scheduled for Jan. 15, 2009.
This disparity in occupancy rates might depend on the tight job market, according to Bill Jones, owner of Accent Rentals in Temple, and a 31-year veteran in the industry.
“There’s a portion of the economy that’s very sensitive to their job being here 30 days from now, or 60 days, or whatever the magic number is for them. I think they are very reluctant to either move from where they are, or raise their price point in what they’re renting,” Jones said. “I think the folks that we’re seeing that are moving in are folks that are certain they’ve got new jobs, or certain their job’s going to be there.”
Real estate professionals say troop deployment has an effect on the Temple-Belton rental market, but it’s not a major impact for two reasons. Fort Hood soldiers consist of at most 10 percent of any single apartment complex and their movement is cyclical. In other words, it ebbs and flows.
Justin Davis, assistant property manager with Gail Roe & Associates in Temple, said home and duplex foreclosures are finding their way into the rental market. This means more choices for the renter. And that trend may continue.
“We’re kind of expecting a bigger foreclosure (market) in late March,” Davis said “We have more properties come to us with foreclosures going the way they are, and we’ll either A, try to sell them, or B, try to rent them out.”
