Studio apartments buck vacancy, rent trends in Manatee-Sarasota

MANATEE -- A type of rental housing that has been among the most affordable in Manatee and Sarasota counties is getting less expensive and more available.

Earlier in 2015, the vacancy rate for studio apartments in the two counties was about 1 percent, which pushed monthly rental rates to an average of $750 in Sarasota County and $850 in Manatee. Since then, according to data generated by real estate information provider CoStar, the situation has changed.

As of the end of September, vacancy for the single-room apartments had bumped up to 2.5 percent in Manatee County and 2 percent in Sarasota County. Manatee average rent dropped to $750. The average was $560 in Sarasota. The data was based on a survey of 52,786 rental units.

All other apartment categories saw consistent drops in vacancy and increases in rents through the first nine months of the year. The overall apartment vacancy rate in the two counties is just over 3.1 percent.

The increased availability of studios comes even as some new apartment developers omit the small units, typically marketed to single occupants, from their buildings. Wes Thompson, director of development for the Florida regional office of Homes by Towne, said the company's 360-unit Echo Lake Apartments in Lakewood Ranch will not include studio apartments.

Thompson said there is little demand for the small apartments in Lakewood Ranch. Studios in new buildings can also lose appeal on price, as they are priced similarly to one-bedroom units.

"It boils down to what people really want in this area," he said.

Although the third-quarter stats do show more room in the studio sector, apartment building managers aren't necessarily seeing it manifest in their buildings.

Tammy Walker, manager of the Carlton Arms of Bradenton, said studio units in her complex have a waiting list. The complex even raised the rent on studios by a few dollars a month this year. A studio apartment at Carlton Arms rents for $744 a month.

Matt M. Johnson, Herald business reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7027 or on Twitter @MattAtBradenton.

This story was originally published October 24, 2015 at 11:59 PM with the headline "Studio apartments buck vacancy, rent trends in Manatee-Sarasota ."