Friday, March 29, 2024

Apartment watch

Things to watch, what to know, in your apartment operation

positive rent growth in March

Rent growth again positive in March

The latest rent report from Apartment List shows that the national median monthly rent growth in March was +0.6 percent, the second consecutive gain after several months of declines. Year-over-year rent growth was -0.8...
cost of homeownership versus renting

Renting cheaper than buying in top metros

A new report from Realtor.com finds that renting a starter home is less expensive than buying one in all 50 of the largest metros in the United States, sometimes by a wide margin. Assessing rents...
multifamily property prices slide

MSCI: Multifamily property price decline continues

The latest commercial property price report from MSCI Real Capital Analytics said that multifamily property prices fell 1.0 percent from their level of the month before in February. This is much faster than last...
the good stuff is at the bottom in solar power contracts

The good stuff is at the bottom

As a child, I loved it when my grandmother would pick my brother and me up for an afternoon playdate. It was the best. My grandmother was indescribably beautiful, exuded love, spread laughter and...

1.1 million apartments occupied since 2020

National apartment occupancy hit a 10-year low at the end of 2023, while demand reached its highest point since Q2 2022 and continues to be strong. The number of occupied apartments in...
jerome Powell leads discussion of Fed Funds rate changes

Fed raises rate forecast for 2025

Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) met this week and decided to keep the Fed Funds rate unchanged. However, the Federal Reserve’s updated forecasts for key economic metrics projected that interest rates after 2024 will...
2024 and 2025 housing starts forecast

Fannie Mae lowers housing starts forecasts on higher interest rates

Fannie Mae’s March economic forecast calls for multifamily housing starts to decline modestly through the end of 2025. Single-family housing starts are expected to rise but at a lower rate than predicted last month. Fannie...
multifamily housing completions set record

Multifamily completions hit 50 year high

The Census Bureau’s new residential construction report for February showed multifamily construction unit completions continuing their recent surge. In addition, both multifamily permits and multifamily starts rose from the low levels they reached last...

GSEs dominate growth in multifamily mortgages outstanding in Q4

A Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) report shows that the growth in multifamily mortgage debt outstanding in Q4 2023 was down from that in Q3. This is very different from the usual annual pattern where...
home builder sentiment rises in March 2024

Builder sentiment rises above breakeven point in March

A lack of existing inventory that continues to drive buyers to new home construction, coupled with strong demand and mortgage rates below last fall’s cycle peak, helped push builder sentiment above a key marker...
Mary likes commercial conversions

The opportunity in commercial conversions

When I first started in multifamily, I heard an acronym that I admit I had to look up: NIMBY. Not In My Back Yard. As I learned from many conversations with developers, there is...
lumber prices lead construction materials prices higher

Lumber prices lead construction materials prices higher in February

The producer price index (PPI) report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) stated that construction materials prices were up 0.3 percent month-over-month in February on a seasonally adjusted basis. The index of components...

Multifamily distress logs largest increase in 18 months

The multifamily distress anticipated last year is finally starting to materialize. Although multifamily loan defaults remain relatively low, the multifamily distress rate rose as lenders push maturities forward, wrote Yardi Matrix in...
NYC leads in year-over-year rent growth

Rent growth inches higher in February

Yardi Matrix reported that national average apartment rent was up $1 in February compared to the revised level of the month before at $1,713 per month. The national average year-over-year apartment asking rent growth was...
property management jobs grow

Property management jobs grow as construction jobs stall in February

The Employment Situation Report for February from the Bureau of Labor Statistics stated that employment in property management rose while residential construction employment fell fractionally compared to the revised levels of the month before. Overall...
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