Over the first quarter of this year, apartment rental rates here in Tulsa and in Oklahoma City rose. Based on commercial real estate data provider Reis Inc.’s recent information and apartment brokerage team surveys, both cities have made a turn for the better by reducing vacancy rates among apartment renters and seeing growth in the rental market thus far in 2008.

Is this a turn around? ThisTulsa thinks so.

Asking rent for properties in Tulsa has grown 1.1% the first quarter of this year. That’s huge. That’s 4.3% annualized crushing the national average rise in rentals by 3.2%.
The average vacancy rate also set a five-year best at 8.5% this quarter down 0.2% from the 4th quarter of 2007.

Foreclosure is affecting many these days as well. Where do these families that either cannot afford their over-valued homes, or who got sucked into the variable mortgage interest rate go? They rent…or move in with their parents.

Students and younger adults are also among those boosting up these renter rates. Local college admissions are on the rise, and all of these students don’t live on campus. Some of them rent.

Energy costs have to play into this as well. The cost to run a house is much higher than the cost to run an apartment. Sure, the size isn’t ideal for most…but the simple fact of energy in apartments is that you’re sharing walls, floors, ceilings with other who are paying their own bills. It’s almost social, community-esque bill sharing operation if you think about it. Each neighbor is helping the other by heating or cooling their own place. In a house, you’re always competing with mother nature on all sides, and she’ll always win…always.