Surging rental demand for apartments in metro Kansas City during the first six months of 2015 supported a sharp rise in real estate fundamentals following a lackluster second half of 2014. Renters absorbed 2,510 apartments during the first half of this year, surpassing the 1,810 apartments completed during the same period a year ago. With leasing activity exceeding deliveries so far this year, the overall vacancy rate fell 60 basis points to 5 percent by the end of June. The decline followed a spike in vacancy and negative absorption in the fourth quarter of 2014. The recent resurgence in leasing resulted in the vacancy rate in June matching the 5 percent rate one year ago. Supply-side pressure was most noticeable in the Class A apartment segment, which po sted an increase of 60 basis points in the vacancy rate year-over-year to reach 4.2 percent in June. Even with the increase, the vacancy rate was tightest among top-tier apartments, while Class C vacancy tightened 20 basis points during the same period to settle at 5.3 percent in June. A Landlord’s Market As a result of Kansas City’s apartment vacancy rate tightening during the first half of this year, operators were able …
