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 The national vacancy rate was 4.1 percent, unchanged from the first
quarter but down from 4.3 percent a year earlier.
New construction rose to 33,210 units, outpacing the number last
year.
Rents remain at record-high nominal levels, although labor market
weakness is limiting landlords' ability to raise rents at a faster
pace.
"Nonetheless, landlords continue to extract whatever rent increases
they can out of their tenants, causing rents to inch higher," Ryan
Severino, senior economist for Reis, said in a statement.
Asking rent rose 0.8 percent to an average $1,099 per month during
the second quarter. Rents had risen 0.6 percent a year earlier.
New Haven remained the tightest market in the United States, having
the lowest vacancy rate of 2.2 percent.
Reis noted strong decline in vacancy rate in markets such as
Columbia, Tucson, Omaha, Las Vegas, Richmond and Lexington.
Usually, California markets see the strongest decline in vacancy
rate.
Markets lagging during the recovery, which is now in its fourth
year, are beginning to gain ground, Reis said.
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However, markets that led the recovery were losing some steam,
especially as construction there was ramping up.
Reis said 45 of the 79 markets it tracked saw a decline in vacancy
from a year earlier, while rents in all markets rose.
New York remained the most expensive market.
The average rent in New York was 47 percent higher than in San
Francisco, the second most expensive market, Reis said.
(Reporting by Mridhula Raghavan in Bangalore; Editing by Kirti
Pandey)
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