Vacancies up, Rents up

Its true.

The city-wide occupancy rate at the end of 2008 was 91.4 percent, the lowest level since 1994.

City-wide average rental rates increased slightly from $945 to $962 a month. It was because several high-rent properties opened in downtown and the West Campus area, according to Capitol Market Research president Charles Heimsath.

He expects occupancy to drop by another 2 percent and rental rates to fall by 5 percent by the end of this year.