WSJ.com - Apartment Market Shows Signs of Life After 2001 Slump

WSJ.com - Apartment Market Shows Signs of Life After 2001 Slump

Wow! In the midst of the longest housing boom apartments are booking up tight. Vacancy rates nationwide are down and prices are up. One must wonder how much immigration is occurring.

A week or so ago a Chinese illegal immigrant was stuck in an elevator for two days. It was discovered that he paid $60,000 to be smuggled into the US. Working 6 days per week, he had totally paid off the debt in a couple of years. He said he would have been willing to pay much more because he had earned less than $1,000 per year in China for harder work.

There are a number of reasons the housing market continues to boom. No doubt, demographics are a significant factor as is a strong economy and low interest rates. The declining apartment vacancy is an excellent sign for the total housing market. Real estate professionals suggest that a strong real estate market is strong from the bottom up. With the "boomers" moving to the "big house" it is nice to know that there are enough "echo boomers" and immigrants to keep the market for apartments equally strong.

The bottom line is that the real estate market and stock market have upside potential.