Study: Here’s what apartments add to economy

The apartment industry contributed $579.1 million to the Sioux Falls metro area in 2013, according to a study by the National Multifamily Housing Council and National Apartment Association.

The study also found the following:

• The local economic contribution from the apartment industry totaled $579.1 million.

• The economic contribution of local apartment construction totaled $131.4 million.

• The economic contribution of local apartment operations totaled $98.6 million.

• Apartment construction and operations supported $77.2 million in personal earnings for local workers.

• Renter spending in the Sioux Falls metro area contributed $349.2 million to the local economy.

• The total economic contribution of the apartment industry and its residents in South Dakota totaled $1.2 billion and supported more than 13,700 jobs.

“According to our January vacancy survey, the Sioux Falls area is still strong, with prices increasing. As you look around the city, you find numerous developments under various phases of construction. However, with the projected growth of the city, we are right on track with housing needs,” said Matt Petersen, president of the South Dakota Multi-Housing Association. “The rental boom – both locally and nationally – has been fueled by demographic changes like the growing millennial population and a rediscovery of metropolitan urban cores.”

The figures from 2013 are the latest available, so they don’t include several apartment projects that ranked among the largest projects in Sioux Falls last year.