WSJ: Apartment Glut, Get Off Your Butt

According to today's WSJ, apartment vacancies increased and rents declined so much this Spring that we now have an apartment glut.

From the sound of it, landlords can't even give their apartments away. "With unemployment at 9.8% -- a 26-year high," says the Journal, "more would-be renters are doubling up or moving in with family and friends during periods of job loss."

Rental markets such as San Jose and New York have plummeted more than 6 percent in the past year, and we haven't hit bottom yet.

That means deals for renters. For example, the Journal interviews Jennifer Hyman, a recent Harvard Business School grad who got her rental for $500 less per month that the previous occupant-plus an additional first month free. That's equivalent to an 8 percent rent reduction, so Ms. Hyman effectively got her apartment for more than 25 percent off the listed price.