The OC Register had a post yesterday saying that Orange County apartment rents are projected to rise this year based on data from Marcus & Millichap.  

Orange County apartment rents are projected to continue rising this year while the number of empty units will continue to fall, making the county the fifth-best apartment market for landlords in the nation in 2012, a market forecast concluded.
It’s the second year in a row that the Marcus & Millichap National Apartment Index ranked O.C. No. 5 out of 44 U.S. metro areas. The county’s apartment market also ranked third best out of seven California metros.

If the report is accurate, renters need to brace for an average increase of 4% in asking rents. And apartments will be harder to find, with just 3.9% of units expected to be empty by year’s end, the report said.

...

How did they do last year? Marcus & Millichap projected that O.C. asking rents would go up 3.7% to $1,535 per month in 2011. In fact, the average asking rent rose 2.7% to $1,515.

The brokerage was more accurate in its 2011 vacancy projection: It predicted that vacancies would fall to 4.4%, compared to an actual drop to 4.3%.

What do you think will happen to OC rents this year? What about Irvine rents?  Anyone in the process of renewing a lease?