Fewer parking space requirements, lower rents
New research suggests reductions in parking space requirements for apartment projects can lower development costs and rents and lessen environmental impacts. Parking regulations are a central zoning component of apartment development in the U.S. But,...
Rent growth continues autumn fall
The latest rent report from Apartment List shows that the national median monthly rent growth in September was -0.5 percent. Year-over-year rent growth was -1.2 percent. The month-over-month results are the worst for a...
Operating expenses consume 93 cents of every rent dollar
Research from the National Apartment Association (NAA) reveals that nationally, on average 93 cents of every rent dollar cover essential operating expenses and support local communities. In addition to national data, NAA’s research provides...
SFR rent growth rate continues decline in July
CoreLogic reported that their single-family rent index (SFRI) for July rose 3.1 percent from its year-earlier level. This is down from the 3.3 percent year-over-year SFR rent growth reported last month. The rate of...
Apartment market competitiveness down from last year
RentCafe reported that the apartment rental market remained moderately competitive at the recent peak of the 2023 rental season. However, most measures of apartment market competitiveness were down from the levels they posted at...
RealPage reports rent-to-income ratio flip
RealPage reported this month that wages are outpacing rents by a widening margin. Moody's Analytics tells a much different tale. After reporting rent-to-income ratios topped 30 percent last year for the first...
Fed projects interest rates will stay high longer
Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) met this week and decided to keep interest rates unchanged. However, the Federal Reserve’s updated forecasts for key economic metrics projected that interest rates may remain high for longer...
Insurance costs lead operating expenses higher
A new report from Yardi Matrix documents the rapid rise in operating expenses for multifamily properties over the past year and identifies the factors driving this rise. The broad view Nationally, Yardi Matrix found that average...
Multifamily mortgage debt outstanding rises in Q2
A Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) report shows that total net growth in multifamily mortgage debt outstanding in Q2 2023 rebounded from the very low level of Q1. However, growth in multifamily mortgage holdings was...
August multifamily construction starts down sharply
The Census Bureau’s new residential construction report for August stated that the number of multifamily permits issued and unit completions were up from the levels reported last month. However, the number of multifamily starts...
Multifamily starts slowdown forecast to come later
Fannie Mae’s September economic and housing forecast predicts higher multifamily starts in 2023 but lower multifamily starts in 2024 than called for in last month’s forecast. Multifamily starts expected to slow - later The current forecast...
Yardi and property managers sued over revenue management software
Property management software firm Yardi Systems was sued in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington on September 8 over its revenue management software product, currently called Revenue IQ. The suit...
Market rents: who’s hot, who’s not
The pandemic created a number of anomalies in the rental market that will take some time to normalize, not the least of which is in market rents. While more than 35 percent...
Construction materials prices unchanged in August
The producer price index (PPI) report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) stated that construction materials prices were unchanged month-over-month in August on a seasonally adjusted basis. The index of components and materials...
Economic pressures plague renters as median income fell in 2022
Called the invisible tax, inflation wreaked havoc with resident income in 2022 according to new reports by the Census Bureau. This marks three straight years where the nation’s standard of living has fallen due...
