DALLAS, Jan. 27, 2006 -  Real Estate Investment Brokerage Company, the nation's largest real estate investment brokerage firm, recently released its National Apartment Research Report for 2006, which indicates the Dallas/Fort Worth apartment marke t will benefit from healthy employment growth and slowing construction.

Also included in the report is the firm's annual National Apartment Index (NAI), a snapshot analysis that ranks 42 apartment markets based on a series of 12-month forward-looking supply and demand indicators. The Dallas/Fort Worth market improves by two places this year to No. 31.

"Recovery in the Metroplex is only beginning to gain real traction, which will draw a significant amount of capital to the market this year," comments Tim A. Speck, vice president of and regional manager of the Dallas office. "Investors seeking a hedge against rising operating expenses may look for opportunities in the South Irving and South White Rock/I-30 submarkets."

Following are some of the most significant aspects of the Dallas/Fort Worth Apartment Research Report:

• High vacancy will continue to limit rent growth in the Dallas/Fort Worth apartment market this year.
  
  Asking rents will rise to $755 per month, an increase of 1.8 percent over 2005, while effective rents gain 2.3 percent.
   

• As the dust settles from the short-term boost in operations from Katrina evacuees, vacancy will fall an additional 110 basis points this year to 10 percent.
  
  North Irving will register the lowest vacancy through 2006 at 6.8 percent, a figure largely unchanged from last year.
   

• Job creation in the Dallas/Fort Worth metro will increase dramatically in 2006.
  
  Employers are forecast to add over 69,000 jobs this year, more than twice the number added in 2005.
   

• Approximately 3,000 units will be delivered to the market this year, down from 5,800 units in 2005.
  
  Labor and material shortages in the Metroplex will create a bottleneck in the development pipeline.
   

• Investment activity in the Dallas/Fort Worth apartment market is expected to accelerate this year.
  
  The relative affordability of the market provides further insulation as investors can purchase more units for the money and realize greater economies of scale than can be realized in other markets.
  
  

Orange County (Calif.) claimed the top spot in the 2006 NAI, surpassing last year's leader, Riverside-San Bernardino (California's Inland Empire). The region's median home price of more than $700,000 makes Orange County one of the least affordable housing markets in the country, which will keep renter demand at high levels. Fort Lauderdale occupies the No. 2 position due to robust job growth and low vacancy. Las Vegas moved up one spot to No. 3, supported by strong condo conversion activity and declining vacancy. San Diego fell two places to No. 4, and New York City-Manhattan climbed four positions to complete the top five. Typically the bottom MSAs in the NAI are markets with above-average vacancy or weak labor markets.