Multifamily Pricing Fares Best in Slow-Growth Month via GlobeSt.com

Apartments once again fared best for monthly pricing growth in Ten-X’s latest Commercial Real Estate Nowcast, which showed industrywide gains of 0.2% for the month of February. The monthly pricing index indicates modest growth over the past month after remaining flat in January.

Although February’s pricing index reflects a year-over-year increase of 8.5%, that reflects a slower pace of growth than what the industry saw for much of 2016. “After a lengthy period of robust growth, pricing across commercial real estate has entered a period of lethargy during the past three months,” says Peter Muoio, chief economist with Ten-X. “While property valuations did tick up slightly, even the standout apartment market has begun to show signs of weakening in major cities, where a huge infusion of supply appears to have finally caught up with demand.”

Read more...Multifamily Pricing Fares Best in Slow-Growth Month | GlobeSt.com

Luxury Loses in Otherwise Positive Multifamily Market via GlobeSt.com

Post-recession, apartment real estate has been the sector to watch as rents escalated and development was relatively controlled. Entering 2017, the industry buzz revolves around overdevelopment within certain markets and classes, and rents beginning to show declines. Nonetheless, interest in the US rental market is expected to continue to increase over the next few years.

Both trends are positive for potential tenants, thus making the home purchase less attractive. Combined with creeping interest rates and mounting debt, renting looks to become more prevalent as the “American Dream” of homeownership possibly becomes even more remote than ever for many.

Read more...Luxury Loses in Otherwise Positive Multifamily Market | GlobeSt.com

Peak Renter via Calculated Risk

It was six years ago that we started discussing the turnaround for apartments. Then, in January 2011, I attended the NMHC Apartment Strategies Conference in Palm Springs, and the atmosphere was very positive.

The drivers were 1) very low new supply, and 2) strong demand (favorable demographics, and people moving from owning to renting).

Read more...Calculated Risk: Peak Renter

Apartment Sector Remains Strong but Prime for Slowdown According to Ten-X Market Outlook via MultifamilyBiz.com

Ten-X, the nation's leading online real estate marketplace, released its latest U.S. Apartment Market Outlook, including the top five 'Buy' and 'Sell' markets for multifamily real estate assets.

The long-term forecast reveals the sector remains strong after years of booming growth, but may now be primed for a slowdown after far surpassing its prior cyclical peak.

Read more...Apartment Sector Remains Strong but Prime for Slowdown According to Ten-X Market Outlook | MultifamilyBiz.com

New from MPF Research: Apartment Market Trends By Metro via Property Management Insider

When leases expire, some renters are more likely to renew than others. Interestingly, there are geographic trends to this phenomenon.

Considering the nation’s 50 largest multifamily markets, this top 10 list places San Antonio at #1 for renter mobility. In 2016, the Texas metro saw nearly 56% of residents move when leases expired. Meanwhile, the Northeast and Midwest demonstrated impressive retention strength for the same period. In Hartford, Connecticut, two in three renters chose to renew.

Read more...New from MPF Research: Apartment Market Trends By Metro

No sign of a property glut in DFW, but it’s worth watching via Dallas News

Real estate cycles are usually pretty predictable. Here's how things typically go:

The economy and property market heat up and development goes along for the ride.

After a few years of widespread construction, builders tend to overdo it. About the time the next economic downturn arrives, they've built way too much stuff.

Read more...No sign of a property glut in D-FW, but it’s worth watching | Real Estate | Dallas News

ALN Monthly Newsletter February 2017 via ALN Apartment Data

ALN Data just released their January 2017 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 February 2017 via ALN Apartment Data

Rising Rates Top CRE Concerns via GlobeSt.com

Given the Federal Reserve’s stated intention to increase the federal funds rate multiple times in 2017, it stands to reason that interest rates should top the list of commercial real estate executives’ concerns for the second year in a row. In fact, law firm Seyfarth Shaw’s second annual Real Estate Market Sentiment Survey found that 98% of respondents cite rising rates as their main worry, compared to 90% in 2016. Seventy-seven percent of respondents predict we’ll see two or more increases this year.

Read more...Rising Rates Top CRE Concerns | GlobeSt.com

Photo Gallery: Top 10 Cities Americans Are Moving To via National Real Estate Investor

With sites in the gateway markets selling for sky-high prices and potential yields seeming to shrink by the quarter, where should you build your next project? Following population growth is always a good idea, and a newly released study from Penske Truck Rental shows the cities where the most Americans have moved to in 2016. The study was put together by analyzing one-way moving truck reservations made through Penske’s website. Here are the results.

Read more...Photo Gallery: Top 10 Cities Americans Are Moving To | National Real Estate Investor

When It Comes to Moving, Millennials Are Stuck in the Mud via National Real Estate Investor

Fairly or not, the millennial generation has a reputation as footloose and fancy-free. Or, to put it less kindly, slow to launch—slower to get married, buy a house, and have kids than the young people of previous generations.

So you’d think they’d be moving all over the country, discovering whether they’d rather live in a micro-apartment in the Midwest, say, or telecommute from an old farmhouse a couple of hours outside a big city.

Read more...When It Comes to Moving, Millennials Are Stuck in the Mud

Outlook for Apartment Sector Looks Strong via National Real Estate Investor

Since the election, “uncertainty” has been a buzzword among economists. The direction of U.S. policy is not clear on major issues ranging from immigration to tax reform. But the fundamentals of the apartment sector are relatively strong despite it all.

“I hear people talk about ‘uncertainty,’ but when I boil it down to how it will affect the multifamily market, I don’t see any huge change,” says John Sebree, director in the national multi housing group of brokerage firm Marcus & Millichap.

Read more...Outlook for Apartment Sector Looks Strong

Matrix Monthly: Rents Jump $5 in January via Multi-Housing News Online

The end of 2016 marked a seasonal leveling out of average rent growth, but the start of 2017 is starting out strong, according to Yardi Matrix’s monthly survey of 124 metros. U.S. monthly rents increased by $5 in January to an average of $1,315, the report revealed. On a year-over-year basis, rents increased to 4.6 percent, which is a 30-basis-point jump from December’s average, but 240 basis points less than January of 2016.

Read more...Matrix Monthly: Rents Jump $5 in January

‘Surban’ Investment Suffers from Short Supply via National Real Estate Investor

“Surban” may become an important word for real estate investors this year. It’s short for “close-in” suburbs next to major cities, and surban locations are where much of the 25- to-34-year-old cohort is looking to live. According to statistics from realtor.com, Situs RERC and others, America’s most expensive cities are often too pricey for these young residents that are saddled with historically high student debt. While the more affordable outer-ring suburbs might lack amenities and offer long commute times, surban areas usually offer the live/work/play town center environment that Millennials seek, including access to mass transit and the good schools they typically grew up with, as well as proximity to their parents and other family members at a better price point.

Read more...‘Surban’ Investment Suffers from Short Supply

The State of the Multifamily Industry in 2017 via Property Management Insider

On Jan. 10, Apartment Association of Greater Dallas members packed their annual state-of-the-industry luncheon before a panel of industry professionals that included Steve Lamberti of Milestone Apartments REIT; Jay Denton of Axiometrics; Jeff Price of Jones Lang LaSalle; Jay Wagley of CBRE and Brian Tusa of Trinsic Residential Group. Among this group of multifamily movers and shakers, they reached a consensus that growth will likely slow in 2017 but that the market should still remain healthy overall. The panel acknowledged that the boisterous run of the multifamily industry over the past several years make 2015 and 2016 tough acts to follow; however, the apartment industry is still a good place to be despite the potential for a slight slowdown.

Read more...The State of the Multifamily Industry in 2017

Why Companies are Heading to Texas via GlobeSt.com

In early 2017, Toyota will throw open the doors of a new headquarters after a $1 billion relocation and consolidation of its California, New York and Kentucky offices in Plano. Cheaper operating costs and a lower cost of living were two of the main draws for Jamba, which relocated its headquarters from Emeryville, CA to a 25,000-square-foot LEED-certified facility in Frisco. On the corporate end, Texan business tax incentives clock in at around $19 billion available annually in a bid to lure companies such as Toyota, which received a $40 million subsidy towards its move.

“Texas is emerging as a hotspot for businesses."

Read more...Why Companies are Heading to Texas | GlobeSt.com

RCA: 2016 a Record-Breaking Year for Apartment Deal Volume via Multifamily Executive Magazine

Apartment deal volume reached record levels last year, with 3% year-over-year (YOY) sales growth for 2016 on a volume of $158.4 billion nationwide, according to the year-end U.S. Capital Trends Apartment Report from real estate data firm Real Capital Analytics (RCA). The apartment sector was the only major property sector to post positive growth last year, and prices are still rising, with a projected 12% YOY growth in the preliminary run of the Moody’s/RCA Commercial Property Price Index.

Read more...RCA: 2016 a Record-Breaking Year for Apartment Deal Volume | Multifamily Executive Magazine

Dallas area stands atop the job growth hill and laughs at the rest of the nation via Dallas News

Stop us if you've heard this one before: The Dallas area leads the nation in job growth, according to newly released data.

This time, it was the Bureau of Labor Statistics with its December national employment numbers.

The Dallas-Plano-Irving division of the larger Dallas-Fort Worth metro area added 95,300 nonfarm jobs between December 2015 and the end of last year.

Read more...Dallas area stands atop the job growth hill and laughs at the rest of the nation | Economy | Dallas News