Surging occupancies are spurring apartment builders' confidence  in a big way this year, as the first quarter NAHB-Fannie Mae Multifamily Market Index (MMI), released June 2, reveals. With apartments filling up and rental rates rising, things are definitely looking up, though the for-sale condo market is not included in this rosey outlook. The components measuring current demand for both moderately priced (Class B) and lower-rent (Class C) apartments reached their highest level in the history of the MMI (started at year-end 2002) this time around. Demand for luxury apartments (Class A) also posted a modest gain. Meanwhile, the components gauging supplies of market-rate rentals declined in the latest survey and the component that tracks rents reached a record high for the series.
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