Lumber price surge drives construction material prices higher
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its producer price index report for September 2020. It showed that the BLS price index of materials and components for construction was up 2.1 percent from August,...
Slow jobs recovery continues in August
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) recently released its Job Openings and Labor Turnover (JOLT) report for August. It shows slightly stronger jobs growth than in July, but not as strong as in May...
GSEs increase share of multifamily mortgage debt in Q2
A Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) report on commercial and multifamily mortgage debt outstanding shows that lending for mortgages on multifamily properties continued in Q2 2020. Total multifamily mortgage debt rose by 2 percent, or...
Update on student housing
RealPage recently presented their student housing fall market update. It reported that rent growth and occupancy numbers are below what has been seen in recent years but they are not as bad as some...
Multifamily property values continue to rise in August
A pair of recent reports, one from CoStar and another from Real Capital Analytics (RCA), show that multifamily property continues to see price increases despite the pandemic.
Defining the indices
The CoStar report focuses on a...
Voters evenly split on Prop 21
Results of a Berkeley IGS Poll indicate that likely voters are evenly divided on Prop 21, the rent control initiative which is on the November ballot in California.
The big picture
The results of the poll...
It’s still a good time to invest in apartments
Freddie Mac recently released its Apartment Investment Market Index (AIMI) for Q2 2020. While the index was down slightly from the Q1 reading, it was still up for the year.
Defining AIMI
Freddie Mac developed the...
Comparing urban and suburban apartment markets
RealPage recently held a webinar where they discussed the differences between the recent performance and the future prospects of the urban core apartment markets compared to the more suburban markets.
Inspiration for this webcast came...
Best properties and PMCs by reputation
Online reputation management company, Reputation.com, has analyzed its database of 3 million customer reviews of more than 70,000 multifamily properties to compile a list of the best properties and best property management companies.
How good...
Multifamily housing construction slows in August
The Census Bureau released its monthly new residential construction report for August 2020. It shows a slowdown in all phases of multifamily housing construction.
Permits fall
The number of permits issued for buildings with 5 or...
COVID’s impact on multifamily CRE loan credit risk
A report from Moody’s Analytics attempts to predict the impact of the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic on the credit quality of commercial real estate (CRE) loan portfolios backed by multifamily and other property...
Alternative views on rent payments
With COVID disrupting the economy, there is high interest in assessing how many renters are failing to make their rent payments. This article examines alternatives to the NMHC rent tracker.
Focus on the big guys
The...
Taking sides on Prop 21
The latest rent control initiative to appear on California’s ballot will be voted on this November. People and groups are now declaring where they stand on Proposition 21.
Recapping the basics
Prop 21 would allow rent...
Jobs coming back, but slowly
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) recently released its Job Openings and Labor Turnover (JOLT) report for July. It shows that the jobs market is continuing to recover from the COVID-19 induced shutdowns, but...
Lumber drives construction material prices higher again
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its producer price index report for August 2020. It showed that the BLS price index of materials and components for construction was up 0.9 percent from July,...
