RealFacts, a Novato, CA rental market analyst, squeezes its data for multifamily market insights that are of great value to its clients.

One recent week, however, it allowed its data crunching enthusiasm to take on a life of its own and came up with some amusing correlations. The finds may or may not be very useful to investors looking to improve their returns in the soft economy, but they are worth at least a good chuckle.

Painting for dollars

What color should you paint your Phoenix, AZ apartment complex to make it more profitable?

Forget those wild blues and blinding oranges, if you want to get the most bang for your painting budget. Renters apparently don't mind paying extra for a home swathed in soothing, conservative, down-to-earth hues. The highest average rents were found at buildings painted in earth tones -- muted rusts and greens and subtle yellows and oranges. White buildings with blue trim (a near patriotic theme?) drew the next highest rents, then buildings in khaki and gray -- very conservative.

The lowest average rents were in complexes painted in beige (probably old, aging units that were once white) with mauve trim (the anti-mauve movement continues unabated) and those painted in tan and brown.

Aren't those earth tones?

"Now if someone could just explain why tan and brown are not earth tones," said RealFacts CEO Caroline S. Latham.

California gold shines in Phoenix

Phoenix apartment complex owners who want to charge the highest rents should move to California.

Perhaps not so surprising, the Phoenix apartment owners who charge the highest average rents live in California -- Burlingame, San Ramon and Anaheim. That's probably because the owners' rents are so high.

Phoenix multifamily housing owners who live in Medina, OH -- a city of 25,000 -- charge the least.

"But that might not be the most pressing of their problems," quipped Latham.

One of the town's most pressing issues is traffic signal upgrades.

Number 42 is the luckiest number

Based solely on the number of buildings, the highest rents are available in complexes with 42 structures, which leads to an average rent per unit of $1,044. Build a complex one building short, with only 41 structures and your receipts will plummet to an average rent per unit of only $743 a month.

"And you can quote us on these facts, just don't take us seriously," said Latham.

The multifamily housing market isn't THAT slow, is it?

Published: December 4, 2002

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A journalist for 35-years, Broderick Perkins parlayed an old-school daily newspaper career into a digital news service offering editorial content and consulting services. Perkins' San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group includes the flagship news site, DeadlineNews.Com, offering real estate, personal finance and consumer journalism, and a backshop, the Deadline Newsroom.