Published January 20, 2010

If you:

• own or manage 5-unit or larger market-rate apartment properties
• in King, Pierce, Snohomish,  Kitsap, or Thurston counties,
• where you have a full year of last year's revenue and expenses (January through December),
• and the property was not in initial lease-up during the year or had units out of service for a long period of time,

then participate in our annual survey of expenses and receive a 20-page Executive Summary of the results, which we publish each March in The Apartment Expense Report.

How to participate

We conduct this research once a year. To participate, send us your annual income and expense statement by February 20th (for properties with a full 12 months of operating history).

Sample data page

Click on the sample data page to the right if you would like to download a full size PDF version (182kb).

Confidential

We treat your expense statements confidentially. We do not identify any information for any specific property in the final report. The report presents statistical information only, including averages, medians, low and high costs, all of which are calculated for groups of properties so your property's costs can never be identified.

We have been doing this since 1993. Owners and managers participate with more than 80,000 units each year. We get such a large participation rate because participants are confident we treat their expense statements carefully. We also get such a strong response because participants value the Executive Summary they get in return.

What information do we need

• Your expense statement needs to show your costs for the past year for each line-item of expense you track (see our list of the minimum number of line-item categories we require).
• Include the property address, year it was built, and number of units. This lets us report on expense trends by market area, property size ranges, and age ranges.
• Your contact informtion: name, address, phone, and email (so we can send the finished participant report, and in case we have any questions)

What do I get?

Participants get a detailed, 20-page Executive Summary of the results of this survey. The report includes a discussion of expense trends and tables of line-item operating costs for the year, along with historical comparisons to help put these trends in perspective.

Participants also get online access to more detailed income and expense data and trends. (The more properties you send us, the more online access you get.)

How to get the information to us

You can send us your expense statements by mail or fax:

• Mail to Dupre + Scott Apartment Advisors, 4300 SW Holly St, Seattle WA 98136
• Fax to us at (206) 935-6673
• Note: call us at (206) 935-2915 if you would prefer to email your statements

Expense categories

here is a list of the minimum number of line-item categories we require. Don't worry if you use different terms. This list is meant to be a guide only.

• Income (show your revenue for the year in as much detail as possible)
• Real estate taxes
• Insurance
• Utilities (ideally, break out electricity, water. sewer, garbage)
• Heat (paid by the property, if any)
• Resident management
• Professional management
• Office administration
• Decorating and turnover
• Repairs and maintenance
• Pool and recreation costs, if any
• elevator costs, if any
• Landscaping
• Advertising & marketing
• Capital expenses
• Miscellaneous

Who participates?

Here is a partial list of participants:

Ad-West Realty Services, Allied Group, Avalon Bay Communities, BLU Group, BRE, Breier-Scheetz Properties, Coast Real Estate Services, Coho Real Estate, Cornell & Associates, Crawford/Katica, CTL Management, DARCO, Epic Asset Management, Equity Residential, Essex Property Trust, Ferguson Property Management, Glacier Management, GRAN, HSC Real Estate, Investco Management Services LLC, Josef F. Stanzl, King County Housing Authority, La Fountaine Apartment Group, Mullally Development, Nevins/Lewbel Property Management, Olympic Management, Phillips Real Estate Services, Pinnacle Realty Management Co, Precision Management, Prime Locations, Reeder Management, Simpson Property Group, S-J Management, Suhrco Residential Properties, Targa Real Estate Services, Tecton Corporation, Trammell Crow Residential, Trinity Partnership, Waddell Properties, William Yedor, Wilson Management

Editor's note: This is the complete article.

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June 18, 2013

Heather Wade: "The information contained in your online Investment Report is quick, intuitive, easy to use, and most importantly, reliable. I am impressed at the access to so much information all in one spot. With your Development Report, I have the multifamily construction information at my fingertips, and it is a breath of fresh air because the list is comprehensive, intelligent and invaluable because it is updated frequently."

"One of the best features of your Vacancy Report is the access it gives me to trending rents and vacancies for whatever custom criteria I select. Your rent and vacancy information is vital in establishing market trends that clients sincerely appreciate and value. We not only read your Apartment Advisor thoroughly, we are beginning to quote you in our company research overviews of the market and often in my own written assessment of the market we use in our evaluations of value. We love all of the work you do." (Heather is a Broker Assistant in Hendricks & Partners Seattle office.)