Bigger Rise For Rents Likely in '93; Increase for D.C. Area Could Lag Behind Nation
Renters will see their monthly payments rise a bit more steeply in 1993 than in the past several years, according to residential real estate experts. But in some parts of the country, including the Washington area, where economic recovery is still a question mark, the increase is expected to be smaller.</br></br>"At least for the coming year, the story is still relatively positive" for renters, said Thomas W. White, senior vice president for multifamily activity at the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), which buys mortgages and bundles them together for sale as securities.</br></br>Nonetheless, White and others noted that the renter's market that has prevailed in many metropolitan areas for the last several years is slowly fading.</br></br>"In a lot of markets ... some of the concessions {made to renters by landlords} are burning out," White said.</br></br>Concessions such as a month's free rent and lower security deposits have been commonplace in the last few years in Washington and other cities where there has been a large oversupply of apartments. Locally, there has been a decline in concessions in the last several months, but they remain a major factor in some parts of the market with high vacancy rates.