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...
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 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...
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...
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 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...
Employment rises despite lower job openings
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover (JOLT) report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said that the number of job openings in January was 8.86 million. This was reported to be down 26,000...
Multifamily CMBS delinquency rate lower in February
Trepp reported that delinquency rate for multifamily commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) loans declined slightly in February, falling 10 basis points. Overall CBMS delinquency rate declines For delinquencies, Trepp focuses on loans that are 30 or more...
Multifamily property price slide accelerates
CoStar reported that its value-weighted index of multifamily property prices fell 1.4 percent month-over-month in January 2024, the fifth decline in a row and the 16th decline in the last 18 months. This index...
Lower multifamily construction spending in January
The Census Bureau’s report on construction spending said that the value of multifamily residential construction put in place in January was down 0.4 percent from the revised level of the month before. Spending on...
Rent growth turns positive in February
The latest rent report from Apartment List shows that the national median monthly rent growth in February was +0.2 percent, the first increase after 6 months of rent declines. Year-over-year rent growth was -1.0...
Fannie Mae predicts a soft landing for economy
Fannie Mae’s February economic forecast calls for a steady decline in inflation while both GDP growth and employment growth remain positive, if subdued. The housing forecast predicts that multifamily starts will be higher in...
MSCI: Multifamily property prices lower in January
The latest commercial property price report from MSCI Real Capital Analytics said that multifamily property prices in January fell 0.4 percent from their level of the month before. Prices were down 7.9 percent from...
Construction materials prices continue to climb in January
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 January on a seasonally adjusted basis. The index of components...
