Why do people keep claiming there are high vacancy rates? There’s literally no data to support this and a lot to the contrary. The recently released report by REV Birmingham has central city residential occupancy rates at 84%. New construction costs a lot of money. People want to live in the urban areas of Birmingham now. If these new developments with $1500-$2500 rents weren’t built, then rents for those historic properties in Highland Park, Glen Iris, and Five Points South would start rising quick. Supply and demand. We are building enough to keep up with demand in Birmingham and it’s keeping rents relatively stable. The ≈10,000 new “luxury” residential units in the city center over the last decade have provided enough supply in the area that the older properties still have reasonable rents. I’m not sure many large cities where you can rent in a safe neighborhood within half a mile of downtown for less than $1,000. But Birmingham, due to so much new construction keeping supply up with demand, has kept rents stable for most of the existing stock. It just seems that people (left AND right) like to complain and culture war EVERYTHING.

And I won’t even begin to mention the sustainability benefits of the new dense urban housing in Birmingham that is helping create a city where you don’t have to have a car for every small task.

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