EPA announces new WOTUS rule
On August 29 EPA issued a revised final rule updating their definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS). The revision was made in response to the Supreme Court’s May decision in the case...
Rent growth turns negative in August
The latest rent report from Apartment List shows that the national average monthly rent growth in August was -0.1 percent, the first negative reading since February. Year-over-year rent growth was -1.2 percent. The month-over-month...
Job openings much lower in July
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover (JOLT) report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said that the number of job openings in July was 8.83 million, down 338,000 openings month-over-month. In addition, last...
Multifamily property prices rise in July
CoStar reported that its value-weighted index of multifamily property prices rose 1.4 percent month-over-month in July, the first month-over-month increase since June 2022. However, this index fell 18.0 percent year-over-year. The value-weighted index of non-multifamily...
Fannie Mae examines multifamily construction pipeline
The multifamily commentary that accompanied Fannie Mae’s monthly forecast for August reported on the number of units in the multifamily construction pipeline. In doing so, it used data from Dodge Data and Analytics (Dodge). Starts...
MSCI: Multifamily property prices up in July
The latest commercial property price report from MSCI Real Capital Analytics said that multifamily property prices in July were up 0.1 percent from their level of the month before but still down 12.2 percent...
Fannie Mae forecasts lower multifamily starts
Fannie Mae’s August economic and housing forecast predicts higher single-family starts but lower multifamily starts than did last month’s forecast. Multifamily starts slow The current forecast for multifamily housing starts is shown in the first chart,...
IRR reports multifamily cap rates rising
Intergra Realty Resources (IRR) released its 2023 Mid-Year Viewpoint Summary, an update to its annual Viewpoint report. Unlike the year-end report, the update does not discuss the state of the US economy but rather...
Higher rent increases seen in latest Pulse Survey
The “Week 60” edition of the Census Bureau’s Pulse Survey shows that the portion of renters who are reporting that their rent increased in the last 12 months has been rising. The most common...
Tighter lending standards and multifamily lending
A recent report from Berkadia examines whether the widely reported recent tightening in lending standards by banks has significantly impacted the banks’ lending on commercial real estate. It concludes that, in the case of...
Multifamily developer confidence in positive territory for second quarter
Confidence in the market for new multifamily housing was in positive territory for the second quarter, according to results from the Multifamily Market Survey (MMS) released today by the National Association of Home Builders...
July multifamily construction completions down sharply
The Census Bureau’s new residential construction report for July stated that the number of multifamily permits issued, starts and unit completions were all down from the levels reported last month. The number of multifamily...
Single-family starts edge higher in July but rising rate concerns persist
A lack of existing inventory and solid demand helped offset rising mortgage rates and push single-family production higher in July, even as builders continue to grapple with elevated construction and financing costs as well...
Multifamily mortgage originations rise from Q1 to Q2
A report from the Mortgage Bankers’ Association (MBA) says that originations of multifamily mortgages in Q2 2023 were up 37 percent quarter-over-quarter but were down 48 percent year-over-year. Originations of all commercial mortgages as...
Builder confidence falls on rising mortgage rates
After steadily rising for seven consecutive months, builder confidence retreated in August as rising mortgage rates nearing 7 percent (per Freddie Mac) and stubbornly high shelter inflation have further eroded housing affordability and put...
