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CAPITAL REGION
Average rental unit in region now at $914
BY AMEERAH CETAWAYO Gazette Reporter
Reach Gazette reporter Ameerah Cetawayo at 395-3040 or acetawayo@dailygazette.net.

    People opting to continue renting amid the housing and credit crisis pushed the average residential rent in the Capital Region to $914 at the end of May, according to a seasonal report that Sunrise Management & Consulting will release today.
    Rental rates in the Capital Region saw a 1.5 percent increase over the past six months, rising from $900 to $914. The average rent is up $30 from a year ago and $62 from spring 2007.
    The region’s most common floor plans for apartments were onebedroom, one-bath units with an average rent of $788 for an average of 727 square feet; two-bedroom, one-bath units with an average rent of $852 for an average of 926 square feet; and two-bedroom, two-bath units with an average rent of $1,035 for 1,096 square feet.
    The report examines apartment buildings with hundreds of units, not the flats many Capital Region residents rent, such as in two- or three-family houses.
    Richard Dolin, director of research for Sunrise, said renters in larger apartments may want to buy and move into a single-family home but they’re having problems getting financing. As a result, many opt to continue renting.
    “Lenders are requiring a much larger down payment than they used to require, and that’s the barrier for most families wanting to move on to single-family home ownership,” Dolin said.
    The statistics also reflect the growing trend of people choosing to remain renters as well as the creation of new multifamily units, he added.
    “The apartment business remains relatively stable even in dark economic times,” Dolin said. “The turnover of Capital Region [rental] ownership is relatively small.”
    Dolin added the ownership stability is buoyed by the region’s higher-than average employment and an abundance of colleges and universities.
    In Schenectady County, average rental rates rose $10 over the past six months, from $831 to $841. The average rent is up $44 from a year ago, a 5 percent increase, and up $80 from spring 2007, a 10.6 percent increase.
    Average rent for a one-bedroom, one-bath unit in Schenectady was $754 with an average of 692 square feet, and $796 for a two-bedroom, one-bath unit, with an average of 867 square feet.
    “Average rent in Schenectady County was $841 while the average rent in the Capital Region was $914, but the average apartment in Schenectady was smaller,” Dolin said.
    Average rent for larger floor plans — apartments with more than two bedrooms and one bath — saw a double-digit percentage increase from spring 2007 to 2009. .........>>>>.........>>>>..........http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar00501