ORANGE COUNTY, CA—We saw it during the recession out of sheernecessity, but industry experts say now we're seeing it for adifferent reason: apartment dwellers doubling andtripling up within the same unit in Orange County. BillWilhelm, president of R.D. OlsonConstruction, tells GlobeSt.com that during the downturn,the poor economy and suffering housing sector wereto blame, but today it's because rental rates arerising—particularly in the apartment communities withstate-of-the-art common amenities—and tenants are willing tosacrifice some space and privacy in order to live affordably inthese communities.

Breaking down the cost of living in a class-A apartment amongtwo or three individuals allows them to live in a nicer propertythat goes for a higher per-month rental rate, says Wilhelm. “We'realso seeing it in student housing. Where we usedto see two or three individuals in an apartment, we have a propertythat has four or even six beds in some rooms. They're stacking bedsto be able to fit more tenants.”

The solution works with newer, higher-quality properties, butsome class-B landlords are finding that tenants still aren'tbiting, says Wilhelm. “In some situations, landlords have not beenable to get the rates they thought they were going to get. From arenovation/construction standpoint, we've seen a couple of projectswhere the developers were trying to raise rents by $500 to $1,000 amonth and add amenities. But the older buildings aren't able topull that off.”