HUD provides guidance on use of AI in acquiring residents
In October 2023, President Biden issued an executive order on the safe development and use of artificial intelligence (AI). It directed the HUD secretary to issue guidance on the use of AI in resident...
Multifamily construction spending trends lower
The Census Bureau’s report on construction spending said that the value of multifamily residential construction put in place in March was down 0.61 percent from the revised level of the month before. Spending on...
Multifamily property prices down again in March
CoStar reported that its value-weighted index of multifamily property prices fell 1.0 percent month-over-month in March, the seventh decline in a row. This index was down 11.0 percent year-over-year.
The value-weighted index of non-multifamily commercial...
Employment growth slows in April
The Employment Situation Report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics stated that April employment levels in 3 of the 4 multifamily-related job categories we track rose from the preliminary levels reported last month despite...
Construction jobs market cools in March
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover (JOLT) report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said that the number of job openings in March was 8.49 million. This was reported to be down 325,000...
Positive rent growth reported in April
Yardi Matrix reported that national average apartment rent was up $6 in April compared to the revised level of the month before at $1,725 per month. The national average year-over-year apartment asking rent growth...
Fannie Mae sees lower multifamily starts as inflation persists
Fannie Mae’s April 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 property prices continue slide
CoStar reported that its value-weighted index of multifamily property prices fell 1.0 percent month-over-month in March, the seventh decline in a row. This index was down 11.0 percent year-over-year.
The value-weighted index of non-multifamily commercial...
Emotional support animal vs person with allergies: Who wins?
The Iowa State Supreme Court looked at a conflict between two people, both requesting "reasonable accommodation," in a recent ruling.
Origins of the conflict
Karen Cohen has a severe allergy to pet dander. Because of this,...
HUD proposes criminal records rule changes
HUD issued a notice of proposed rule making to change how criminal records history may be considered in deciding to prohibit individuals from residing in HUD-assisted housing.
According to the proposal, the rule changes would...
Studying commercial to residential conversions
The Multifamily Economic and Market Commentary for April from Fannie Mae focused on the conversion of commercial property to residential uses. It looked at different approaches and discussed the factors that may dictate the...
Rent growth blooms in spring
Yardi Matrix reported that national average apartment rent was up $8 in March compared to the level of the month before at $1,721 per month. The national average year-over-year apartment asking rent growth was...
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...
Multifamily CMBS delinquency rate slightly higher in March
Trepp reported that delinquency rate for multifamily commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) loans rose slightly in March, increasing 3 basis points.
Overall CBMS delinquency rate declines
For delinquencies, Trepp focuses on loans that are 30 or more...
New Section 8 income rule would cap rent growth for LIHTC properties
On January 9, HUD proposed changes to how they calculate Section 8 income limits. The summary of the change as posted on the Regulations.gov website read in part: “The United States Housing Act of...
