The state of affordable housing
Housing affordability has emerged as a key issue in this year’s U.S. presidential election. Both Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump have talked about what they would do to increase the supply of...
Mod, mod world
Some of the busiest apartment developers in the U.S. are still trying to use three-dimensional “modules” created in factories to reduce the cost of construction.
For more than a decade, modular construction companies promised they...
Mass deportations loom for apartments
In the week after President Donald Trump took the oath of office for the second time, the news was full of reports of raids on workplaces by federal agents, arrests of illegal immigrants, and...
Freddie Mac projects increase in YOY multifamily originations
Multifamily originations in 2025 are expected to surpass last year’s volume, thanks to stabilizing, although higher, interest rates, an expensive for-sale market and the nation's extreme shortage of housing, according to Freddie...
Understanding the housing burden: why California is so expensive, but not always the most...
When it comes to housing burden and costs in the United States, California often dominates headlines—and for good reason. According to a new RAND Corporation report, building multifamily housing in California is...
Investors circle overleveraged apartments
Rescue capital is available for apartment borrowers that need it, but relatively few owners of over-leveraged apartment properties are willing to pay the price—so far.
High interest rates have stranded the owners of over-leveraged apartment...
Redfin survey suggests a majority of Americans favor rent control
A recent survey commissioned by Redfin exposes a stark misconception among Americans about rent control. Although economists are in almost total agreement that rent control drives up rent rates over time and...
Inflation is the most destructive disease known to modern societies —Milton Friedman
Here’s how.
1 Shoe leather
The resources and energy people use to convert deteriorating currency into stable assets are costly. Economists call this shoe leather costs, alluding to how people destroy their shoes in the metaphorical...
INFOGRAPHIC: Appliance payoff models explode
^58 percent increase in requested quotes to thousands of appliance repair businesses y/y (2022-2023)
^43 percent increase in appliance spend in 2023 compared to 2013—rising from $390 to $558 over the decade
Why? 1987. Home appliances...
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...
California to turn unused school land into millions of housing units
In an effort to address a lack of housing that officials say has contributed to a shrinking teaching workforce, the California Department of Education is planning on converting undeveloped school lots into affordable housing.
State...
Is illegal immigration a driving force in apartment fundamentals?
Are illegal immigration and deportations truly driving forces behind housing supply, demand, and affordability issues, or are they being overstated by the media and both sides of the political divide? Or put...
Multifamily faces antitrust litigation
With national elections around the corner, some of the nation’s largest apartment companies are facing antitrust litigation over usage of a product that has become increasingly important to the industry since the first multifamily...
Renters slow their roll
Over a third of U.S. renters have lived in the same home for at least five years—up from 28.4 percent a decade ago according to a new report from Redfin. Economic fundamentals are likely...
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...
