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Birmingham Apartments | Making a Case for Renting in Birmingham

Renting an apartment is easy. It's making the apartment feel like a home that's tough. OK, maybe it's not that black and white. After all, securing an apartment in the right neighborhood for the right place can be hard work as well. But, when you search for your new place using a trusted rental company, the job is made easier. Then all you have to decide is where to put the sofa, how to hang your favorite lamp. It's a big deal. And for the most part, an enjoyable one, especially when the search is made easy.

Birmingham is one of more than 75 office markets Cushman & Wakefield tracks in its quarterly report. The commercial real estate company found Birmingham vacancies were below the national average and better than many of its regional neighbors.

In Birmingham, the total office vacancy rate rose to 8 percent, up from 6.6 percent at the end of 2008 and the highest level since the third quarter of 2007.

Birmingham's downtown vacancy rate was 9.7 percent and its suburban vacancy rate was 12.1 percent among the newer, multi-tenant office buildings.

Charlotte had a lower downtown rate (2.5 percent) but a higher suburban rate (18.7 percent) while Nashville had a higher downtown rate (13.8 percent) and a lower suburban rate (9.3 percent), the report found. Cities such as Atlanta (21.1 percent downtown and 16.8 percent suburban), Jacksonville (17.5 percent and 22.9 percent) and Memphis (16 percent and 13.9 percent) were higher across the board.

The Birmingham office market had 243,515 square feet of negative absorption -- meaning more space was vacated than leased in the first quarter of 2009. In the first quarter of 2008, the Birmingham area had negative absorption of 49,169 square feet.

Asking rents had a slight increase during the quarter to $19.28 per square foot from $19.15 at the end of 2008, though Pradat said many tenants are renegotiating their leases at much more favorable rental rates.

So there you have it. When the economy is on the line, all you can do is focus on what you bring to the table. Renting is a smart decision, especially in these troubling times.

About the Author:

Michael Russell writes about a variety of subjects. This article discusses Birmingham apartments. For more information, visit Apartment Finder.