Rent growth flatlines in January
Yardi Matrix reported that national average apartment rent growth stalled in January with rents remaining unchanged from December’s revised level at $1,701 per month. However, January's preliminary rent figure is down $14 from the...
Multifamily construction spending rises in December
The Census Bureau’s report on construction spending shows that the value of multifamily residential construction put in place in December was up 3.2 percent month-over-month. Spending on single-family fell for the 8th month in...
Construction employment higher in January
The Employment Situation Report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics stated that both residential construction employment and apartment operations employment edged higher in the latest month. Note that this report incorporates revisions to population estimates...
Job openings rise in December
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover (JOLT) report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said that the number of job openings in December was 11.01 million, up from the preliminary figure reported last...
Multifamily property price rises stall
CoStar reported that its value-weighted index of multifamily property prices increased only 1.0 percent year-over-year in December 2022. The index was down 1.4 percent month-over-month, the fifth monthly decline in a row. The value-weighted index...
White House plans new renter protections
The White House recently announced a series of actions that executive branch agencies will take to improve renter protections and “fairness” in the rental housing market. It also released a document called Blueprint for...
Yardi Matrix sees slower rent growth in 2023
Yardi Matrix now projects that the national average asking rent growth in 2023 will be 2.6 percent, down from their previous estimate of 3.1 percent. The decline was driven by a few large markets...
HUD proposes new revisions to AFFH rules
On January 19, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a press release stating its intent to once again amend the rules surrounding HUD's affirmatively furthering fair housing (AFFH) regulations. While HUD...
Recession coming, but later
Fannie Mae’s January economic and housing forecasts predict a stronger finish for multifamily starts in 2022 and a higher number of multifamily starts in 2023 than did earlier forecasts. However, it also foresees a...
Multifamily property prices again lead decline
The latest commercial property price report from MSCI Real Capital Analytics said that multifamily property prices fell 1.9 percent in December from their level of the month before. For the second month in succession,...
Multifamily housing permits rise but starts fall in December
The Census Bureau’s new residential construction report for December reported that the number of multifamily permits issued increased but that starts and completions both fell for the month. Starts exceeded completions again leading the...
Construction materials prices move lower in December
The December producer price index (PPI) report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) stated that construction materials prices fell 0.3 percent in the month, seasonally adjusted, the fourth monthly decline in a row....
Apartment demand fell in 2022
RealPage’s Early Edition report for Q4 2022 sums up key apartment absorption measures for 2022 and looks ahead to what we can expect for 2023. Ending a run RealPage reported that apartment absorption has been positive...
Rent delinquencies down slightly in Pulse Survey
The “Week 52” edition of the Census Bureau’s Pulse Survey shows that the portion of renters who are behind on their rent payments fell slightly to 13.3 percent, down from the 13.7 percent reported...
MBA forecasts a shrinking economy in 2023
The Mortgage Bankers’ Association (MBA) recently released its Q3 2022 quarterly databook. It contains data on mortgage originations and on holdings that has been previously discussed. It also includes new forecasts for key economic...
