By Stephanie Guzman, Reporter for Albuquerque Business First:

When it comes to real estate lists that look at best markets for this or that, Albuquerque isn't usually on them.

But one sector of Albuquerque recently made the top of two lists, and that's the apartment market.

Here are the two eye-popping stats:

• Albuquerque posted the eighth highest rent increase in the U.S., according to the apartment listings website ABODO.
• 80 percent of apartment complexes built in Albuquerque last year were geared toward higher income renters, making it one of 15 emerging metro areas with the most luxury apartments, according to Rent Cafe, another apartment listing website.

This may not be surprising to those in real estate. Albuquerque's apartment rent prices have been climbing for months, as have occupancy rates. Business First reported in Februrary that Albuquerque's apartment occupancy rate was at 94 percent.

CBRE's Albuquerque office posted local data earlier this year that showed both regular apartment complexes, and those that offer affordable living, saw rent increases.

ABODO didn't provide specific dollar figures in its national apartment report, but said Albuquerque experienced a 5 percent increase in rent from April to May 2016, which ranked No. 8 in the entire U.S.

Seattle saw the biggest increase in rent at 11 percent, followed by Anchorage, Kansas City, Columbus, Las Vegas, San Jose and Raleigh.

ABODO's report stated: “Albuquerque, specifically, is following a trend that analysts and industry experts have seen in many growing U.S. cities. Young adults either can’t afford to buy a home or they don’t want to be bothered with the hassle of owning one. With homeownership rates falling, it makes sense for landlords to continue to raise pricing on their rental units, especially in markets with tighter inventory.”

Albuquerque's rent increases spell out good news for investors, especially those from out of state chasing bigger returns. Tim Luten, a multifamily broker with SVN Walt Arnold Commercial Brokerage, said he's seen a lot more investment activity this year.

"There are out-of-state investors looking at this market as well as in-state investors," Luten said. "I think overall, we've bottomed out and we're going to start seeing more appreciation again in apartments as well as residential."

Rent increases are also a positive signal for developers, who need high rents to pay for the high cost of construction.

The Rent Cafe study showed 80 percent of all large apartment projects built in Albuquerque last year would be considered luxury units. The study looked at 115 U.S. metros and only considered new apartment projects with 50 units or more.

Luxury apartments are something every state is building more of. Rent Cafe found three out of four apartments built in the U.S. in 2015 were considered luxury apartments. Click here to read the full article.