Apartment Hunting Gets More Expensive

by Talk Business & Politics ([email protected]) 67 views 

If you’re in the market for an apartment, particularly a larger one, we hope you’re prepared to pay a little more rent than was the norm just six months ago.

That idea is based on info we recently received from our friends at CBRE NW Arkansas. The firm generates an annual Northwest Arkansas apartment market overview and forecast, and the latest one indicates rent in our neck of the woods — Benton and Washington counties — is getting higher.

Compared to six months ago, the report said, the average rental rate rose $6 per month to $572. The lowest increase was in the two bedroom/one bath units (up $4 to $516), while the biggest jump came in the three bedroom/two bath units (up $19 to $684.)

Additionally, rent specials and concessions apparently are becoming less common. While conducting its year-end survey, CBRE NW Arkansas found about 12 percent of properties offering some kind of special or concession, compared to 16 percent just six months ago.