The first thing I would do here is break out the questions individually:
1. At $1200, how many apartments will be rented in this market?
The table shows us that at a price of $1200, 17,000 units are demanded, but only 11,000 are supplied.
Since it is impossible to rent a unit that is not supplied, this means only 11,000 units can be rented.
2. At $1200, is the market in equilibrium, experiencing a shortage, or experiencing a surplus?
As we just determined, quantity demanded > quantity supplied at a price of $1200, and this is the definition of a shortage.
3. What do you expect to happen to average rent?
With the shortage in the current market the logical thing would be for rents (prices) to rise. As prices go up the quantity demanded will fall and the quantity supplied will rise until the two equalize.
4. What is the equilibrium rent and quantity in the market?
Looking at the table, we can see that the only price where quantity demanded = quantity supplied is $1400. At that price, 14,000 units will be rented. This is the equilibrium point.
