Though there has been an influx of new units in the Washington area, apartment rents are holding steady as people increasingly turn toward renting amid the troubled mortgage environment.

In 2007, a record number of people nationwide occupied professionally managed apartments, the highest since 2000, according to a new report released by the Washington-based National Multi Housing Council. Across the country, the net absorption rate, or net number of leases signed, almost matched the total number for the previous four years.