Report: R.I. rental costs rise $21/month

ALBANY, N.Y. – The average monthly rent for a multi-family home in Rhode Island increased $21, to $1,155 per month, in the third quarter 2008, according to a biannual report by Sunrise Management & Consulting.
The report, The Fall 2008 Sunrise Multi-Family Rental Market Report, is a survey of 1,950 apartment communities totaling about 340,000 apartments in the New England and New York.
In Rhode Island, 74 properties with 13,940 apartments were polled.
“Dropping home values, a slowing economy and foreclosures are increasing demand for rental units,” Sunrise Management & Consulting President Jesse Holland said in a statement. “With vacancy rates decreasing nationally, the only housing group not facing an oversupply of inventory is the multi-family segment.”
The average rental price had been $1,135 per month in the first quarter of 2008 and $1,131 in the third quarter of 2007.
Sunrise Management & Consulting AMO, headquartered in Albany, N.Y., is a third-party property manager. It also provides market research and consulting to property owners, investors and homeowner associations in the Northeast. Additional information, including the full Fall 2008 report, can be found at www.sunrisemc.com.