Market Absorption of Apartments, First Quarter 2005 Absorptions. Completions in Fourth Quarter 2004

摘要

The Survey of Market Absorption (SOMA) measures how soon privately financed, nonsubsidized, unfurnished units in buildings with five or more units are rented or sold (absorbed) after completion. In addition, the survey collects data on characteristics such as number of bedrooms, asking rent, and asking price. The estimates in this report are based on responses from a sample of the population. As with all surveys, estimates may vary from actual values because of sampling variation or other factors. All comparisons made in this report have undergone statistical testing and are significant at the 90-percent confidence level. An estimated 62,900 apartments were completed in buildings with five units or more in the fourth quarter of 2004, which is about 23,000 less than the 85,900 estimated completions in the previous quarter. This estimate is not statistically different from the estimated 57,800 completions in the same quarter last year. Of the 62,900 units completed in the fourth quarter of 2004, approximately 33,500 were privately financed, nonsubsidized, unfurnished rental apartments. This estimate is about 11,400 less than the revised estimate of 44,900 unfurnished units completed in the previous quarter, yet it does not differ statistically from the estimated 38,800 unfurnished rental completions in the fourth quarter of 2003. An estimated 64 percent (seasonally adjusted) of the newly completed, unfurnished apartments built in the fourth quarter were rented (absorbed) within 3 months of completion. This estimate is not statistically different from the revised rate for the previous quarter, nor from the rate of 63 percent for the same quarter last year. The not-seasonally-adjusted 3-month absorption rate of 58 percent for the 33,500 apartments completed in the fourth quarter of 2004 is lower than the previous quarters revised rate, yet not statistically different from the rate for the same quarter in 2003.