Apartment Market Pulse: Rents, Values and Occupancies - All Up via National Apartment Association

Rent growth occurred across most markets during the third quarter, averaging 4.7 percent on a year-over-year basis, according to Yardi Matrix. Growth continues to slow, as evidenced by a lone city experiencing double-digit rent growth, Sacramento, compared to four last year at this time. San Francisco, Houston, Denver and New York comprise the handful of markets with rent growth lower than the long-term national average of 2.2 percent, and even negative in the higher-end segment. Reports of concessions coming back in some of these cities suggest the scales may soon tip towards tenant-favorable markets.

Read more...Apartment Market Pulse: Rents, Values and Occupanices - All Up | National Apartment Association

Has Apt. Supply Growth Caught Up with Rent Growth? via GlobeSt.com

Going into multifamily REITs’ third-quarter earnings season, which began late Monday afternoon with a report from AvalonBay Communities (AVB), there have been signs of softening in apartment markets nationally. The National Multifamily Housing Council said last week that all four of the indices in its latest quarterly survey came in below the break-even level of 50, while economists and analysts alike are anticipating a moderation of growth in 2017.

Read more...Has Apt. Supply Growth Caught Up with Rent Growth? | GlobeSt.com

Dallas Beige Book 10/19/2016 via Dallas Fed

Economic activity in the Eleventh District expanded moderately over the past six weeks. Manufacturing activity rose, and demand for nonfinancial services increased. Retail sales held steady and automobile sales remained strong. Real estate activity was flat to up in most markets. Loan demand was mixed. Demand for oilfield services stayed depressed, although drilling activity ticked up. Agricultural growing conditions remained favorable, but prices fell further. Overall employment growth picked up slightly, while prices held steady. Outlooks remained generally positive but cautious.

Read more...Dallas Beige Book - Dallas Fed

ALN Monthly Newsletter October 2016 via ALN Apartment Data

ALN Data just released their September 2016 stats on occupancy and rents for over 80 markets. In Texas, it includes DFW, Austin, Houston, San Antonio, Lubbock, Amarillo, Abilene, Corpus Christi and more. It is a must read from a great provider of apartment data.

Read more...ALN Monthly Newsletter October 2016 via ALN Apartment Data

REIS: Rent Market Softens Under Surplus of New Construction in Q3 via Multifamily Executive

REIS’s newly released data on apartment vacancy, absorption, consumption, supply and demand, and rent trends show some softening in the rent market in the third quarter of 2016. High construction levels and weak economic conditions in the beginning of the year have predicated this deceleration, according to REIS economist Barbara Denham. A concurrent drop in new multifamily permits suggests that developers are concentrating more on leasing the existing surplus of units.

Excess of New Units Won't Necessarily Cause High Vacancy Rates

Construction exceeded absorption for the sixth quarter in a row in Q3, but the margin between new construction and net absorption (37,693) is only 51 units.

Read more...REIS: Rent Market Softens Under Surplus of New Construction in Q3 | Multifamily Executive Magazine | Rent Trends, Rents, Supply and Demand, Occupancy and Vacancy Rate, Construction, Absorption Rates, business intelligence, Vacancies, Rent Growth, Rental Market, Markets, Forecast, new developments, Effective Rents, Reis

9 Hidden Costs Managing Apartments That Can Cost You Big Time! via theBrokerList Blog

When managing apartments, there are several categories of operating expenses necessary to maintain and manage them. We all know these expenses: property taxes, insurance, utility charges, maintenance and turnover costs, on-site and off-site management costs, etc. But less well known are potential hidden costs of maintaining and managing an apartment that in large part can determine the profitability of your investment. They are, in no particular order:

Read more...9 Hidden Costs Managing Apartments That Can Cost You Big Time! - theBrokerList Blog

Apartment Building Prices Continue to Rise, Surprising the Market via NREI

Prices for apartment buildings continue to rise relative to property incomes—months after the market seemed to have peaked.

“The thing that surprised me a bit about the last six months was the robustness of pricing in the apartment market,” says James Costello, senior vice president for New York City-based research firm Real Capital Analytics (RCA).

Investors continue to offer higher and higher prices for apartment properties relative to the income the properties produce. After a slow beginning to the year, cap rates in the apartment sector continued their relentless march downwards.

Read more...Apartment Building Prices Continue to Rise, Surprising the Market

Austin Economic Indicators October 2016 via Dallas Fed

The Austin economy slowed slightly in August. Growth in the Austin Business-Cycle Index has steadied over the last two months but remains well below its long-term trend. The unemployment rate increased for the third consecutive month, although it held below other large Texas metros. Jobs declined in August for the first time since March 2016. Recently released data on Austin gross domestic product (GDP) showed that output growth was very strong last year.

Read more...Austin Economic Indicators October 2016 via Dallas Fed

Airbnb + Apartments via The Balance Sheet

Airbnb announced the official launch of its multifamily housing program. The Friendly Buildings Program collaboration with apartment owners and addresses their apprehensions regarding transparency and accountability—that is what it attempts to do, at least.

Nearly 35 percent of multifamily property owners are interested in a home-sharing program and 24 percent of owners were unsure, reports the new National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) home-sharing survey. Nearly 60 percent of multifamily property owners are open to the idea of Airbnb onsite. The market is a powerful growth opportunity for the company if it can overcome owners’ concerns.

Read more...Airbnb + Apartments | The Balance Sheet - Yardi Corporate Blog

The Scarcity of Texas Affordable Housing via Dallas Fed

Texas has long boasted a strong economy, favorable business conditions and a relatively low cost of living that includes affordable home prices. These claims have made it attractive to residents of other states and countries. “If you want to own a cheap home,” a 2015 CBS News article declared, “you may want to head to Texas.”

Despite the state’s sunny reputation, the reality is far more complex. Most Texans do not enjoy the same level of affordability available to them in prior decades.

According to the Texas A&M Real Estate Center, the median sales price of a house has increased 75 percent since 2000, far outpacing inflation. Median household incomes have increased just 31 percent in that time span, with their real values mostly stagnant. Today, more than 43 percent of Texans can’t afford a house over $150,000— yet the median sales price is $196,000.

Read more...The Scarcity of Texas Affordable Housing via Dallas Fed

Providing a Great Multifamily Living Experience via Property Management Insider

Your residents and prospects want a pool, closet space, decent fitness facility and a business center. When looking for an apartment, they’d rather walk in unannounced than set an appointment, and you can bet that any negative reviews will get a closer look.

As for technology, package locker systems are way cool, and so are smart homes. Some would even pay $30-$50 more a month to have them. Leasing and making payments online is convenient, but most want to maintain personal interaction with the leasing agent and staff. Pets are the new amenity, and feeling safe and secure is critical. Seeing is believing; renting an apartment sight unseen isn’t always for everyone.

Read more...Providing a Great Multifamily Living Experience

Seeking Suburban Alpha: Apartment Investing in Select Suburbs Trumps Urban Strategies via MPF Research

Investment research has long suggested that an urban-core strategy is the best way to deploy capital into real estate. While there are some definite advantages to adhering to an urban-centric strategy, it is not necessarily guaranteed to produce the most sizable returns. In fact, our research suggests that investing in the right suburbs will actually generate the highest returns adjusted for risk, regardless of the hold period.

Read more...Seeking Suburban Alpha: Apartment Investing in Select Suburbs Trumps Urban Strategies - MPF Market Research Reports News & Trends

What will it cost you to rent a Dallas-area apartment? More than it ever has via Dallas News

A huge demand for new apartments in North Texas has pushed rents and building occupancy levels to an all-time high.

Dallas-Fort Worth apartment rents jumped by an average of 7.1 percent in the third quarter from a year ago. Previously rents in the area had never seen an average annual increase of more than 5 percent, according new data from apartment analyst MPF Research.

Nationwide, apartment rents increased by about 4 percent during the same period, making D-FW one of the top U.S. markets for rent growth.

Read more...What will it cost you to rent a Dallas-area apartment? More than it ever has | Real Estate | Dallas News

MPF Research Updates: Asset Class and Rental Market Growth via Property Management Insider

The multifamily industry is constantly evolving, and it’s important to keep up-to-date with apartment market intelligence and trends. We’ve brought you the latest updates from MPF Research to help you stay competitive.

Here’s our take on two major updates released by MPF:

Public real estate companies gain new stature as a financial class
The creation by index managers of the Real Estate sector, the eleventh Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) sector, is testament to the increased attention investors are giving public real estate.

Read more...MPF Research Updates: Asset Class and Rental Market Growth