O rlando apartment renters saw an average increase of about 8 percent in monthly rents during a 12-month period that ended in November, according to Yardi Matrix’s monthly survey of 124 markets.

Moving forward, Orlando’s projected job and population growth is strong enough to drive competition among renters and keep rents increasing, he added.

“I would definitely take a severe pay cut,” said the international-relations employee and a Rollins College graduate. “I have a lot of friends who wanted to live here in Winter Park or Baldwin Park, but they can’t afford it and have to move out to a place like Oviedo in the suburbs.”
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“We also think that Orlando rents will continue to grow but at a pace at which they are growing more slowly,” Gudell said. She projected Orlando-area renters can expect rate increases of 4.8 percent this year.

 

With jobs in tourism, services and health care expected to continue growing, so will rental rates, said Shelton Granade, vice chairman of CBRE in Orlando.
“Occupancy should stay high and rents should continue to go up,” said Granade, who specializes in multi-family residences . “It doesn’t mean rents will go up 8 percent a year, but we’re forecasting 4 percent annually for the next five years.”

hief Economist Svenja Gudell said rent increases in Orlando will continue but might soften this year because rental costs are rising faster than wages.

Orlando ranked as the 35th most expensive rental market in the nation in December, according to a new report by analytics firm Zumper. Rents for one-bedroom units in the Orlando area stayed flat at about $1,000 from November, while two bedrooms held at $1,200, the research group reported.

 

Mary Shanklin

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