Same-property occupancy for the company's portfolio stood at 92.9% during the fourth quarter, below the 93.7% during Q4 2008 and 93.7% during Q3 2009. Company chairman and CEO Richard Campo attributed the occupancy drop partly to seasonal factors and partly to tenants moving out to purchase homes, thanks to the housing tax credit. He did say, however, that activity in January 2010 was strong.

"2010 will have a modest, back-end-loaded recovery," Campo noted, adding that 2010 would continue to be a challenge across Camden's 14 markets but nothing compared to the year just past. "In 2009," he remarked, "we faced the most challenging conditions since the 1980s."

In analyzing regional performance, Campo said that the Washington DC metro area will likely be the top-performing one for Camden. Dallas and Houston, formerly strong markets, will see some weakening. Meanwhile, on the other end of the extreme, is Phoenix. Phoenix gets an "F" rating from Camden, Camp said, for "finally."

"Last year, we gave Phoenix our only 'F'," Campo commented. "The fundamentals in Phoenix were flat awful last year." But the rate of decline has decelerated, he went on to say, earning the market a "D," and improving outlook. "We project the job growth to be 3,400 in the area this year, and with only 2,000 completions, Phoenix will see an improvement in occupancy rate," Campo said.