Sunday, March 30, 2025

Economics

Preserving affordable housing in the Trump era

The United States is experiencing a rental housing crisis. There is a shortage of affordable housing, and many renters struggle to pay rent. Making matters worse, thousands of the nation’s affordable housing units are...
Often considered the slowest growing region in the U.S., the Midwest has recently shown surprising improvements, both in the performance of its multifamily markets and in the resilience of the region’s economy. The outperformance comes amid a volatile economic backdrop—the Midwest’s relative stability is one of the region’s defining features and highlights its importance in any multifamily portfolio.

New metrics make Midwest investment attractive

  Recently, the Midwest has shown surprising growth and economic resilience, making this region an attractive candidate for multifamily development, investment and general interest. Often considered the slowest growing region in the U.S., the Midwest has...

The price of disorder

I was once pitched a deal in the heart of the Amazon—Manaus, Brazil. What was I buying? Firstly, a commercial asset. But I couldn’t shake my concern around governance. The sanctity of a contract...
Rents fall behind inflation

Rents fall behind inflation

Tracking rents is important for understanding the dynamics of the housing market. For example, the sharp increase in rents helped me deduce that there was a surge in household formation in 2021 (September 2021:...

Opportunity Zones: A path forward

Opportunity Zones (OZs) have emerged as a significant tool in driving investment into underdeveloped areas, offering a compelling case for their continuation and expansion. Since their inception in 2017, OZs have attracted nearly $100...
Market demand sets stage for few rent hikes

Market demand sets stage for few rent hikes

While asking rents for new leases nationally are running nearly flat over the past 12 months, those figures are heavily influenced by the Sunbelt, where record-high supply has turned rent growth negative in some...

Factors driving apartment demand and consumer sentiment

Last year’s surprising upside in apartment demand is expected to continue this year, even if the pace of absorption slows due to fewer new deliveries, said RealPage Chief Economist Carl Whittaker, who...
The median household net worth of older millennials, born in the 1980s, rose to $130,000 in 2022 from $60,000 in 2019, according to inflation-adjusted data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Median wealth more than quadrupled to $41,000 for Americans born in the 1990s, which includes the generation’s youngest members, born in 1996.

Millennials rising

Millennials are now wealthier than previous generations were at their age. They can’t believe it either. The median household net worth of older millennials, born in the 1980s, rose to $130,000 in 2022 from $60,000...
High-income millennials and Gen Zers are choosing Class A apartments over home ownership. Is it a lifestyle choice or the economy?

INFOGRAPHIC: A luxury vibe

High-income millennials and Gen Zers are choosing Class A apartments over home ownership. Is it a lifestyle choice or the economy? National Class A rents average $660 to $2,000 below the average monthly mortgage Hospitality-focused apartments Class...
Would a YIMBY building boom rejuvenate urban family life or produce sterile, megacity hellscapes?

The housing theory of childless cat ladies

Would a YIMBY building boom rejuvenate urban family life or produce sterile, megacity hellscapes? Housing Boom = Baby Bust? America’s low birth rate is in the news again, thanks largely to Vice Presidential candidate Sen. J.D....
Stricter land-use regulations force builders to spread their efforts over a large number of relatively small projects, limiting the number of homes they’re able to build. This, in turn, limits their ability to invest in better homebuilding technology or otherwise take advantage of economies of scale.

Is land-use regulation holding back construction productivity?

Ed Glaeser is perhaps the pre-eminent urban economist working today, and I’ve cited his work repeatedly when looking at land-use restrictions and burdens on new development. So I was very interested to see he’s coauthored...
Despite inflation cooling to the lowest level in more than three years in July, there’s no way around the fact that consumer prices in the United States have risen sharply over the past three years, as several factors came together to form a perfect storm of inflationary pressures.

Categories hit hardest by inflation

Despite inflation cooling to the lowest level in more than three years in July, there’s no way around the fact that consumer prices in the United States have risen sharply over the past three...

Empty apartments finally start to fill

The biggest apartment construction boom in four decades flooded the market with new supply over the past two years. Apartment owners had to contend with a surge in empty units. That is starting to change. The...
Absorption rates have notably risen from 118,000 units in the first quarter to 166,000 in the second, fostering optimism among industry experts about a potential shift from decelerating fundamentals to a growth phase.

Market set for recovery

The multifamily housing market is showing promising signs of recovery, with recent data from CoStar Group revealing a significant increase in demand and stabilization of vacancy rates. Absorption rates have notably risen from 118,000 units...

Candidates move focus to housing

In the 2024 race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump for the U.S. presidency, housing is a major issue for the first time since the 1990s. One thing is certain, the...
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