CRE Transactions Retreat in January After Closing 2020 with a Bang via GlobeSt

US commercial real estate transaction volume started the year with a whimper. A new report from Real Capital Analytics shows a 58% decrease in year-over-year transaction volume in January.

The fumble comes on the heels of record activity in December, when transactions volumes increased 8% year-over-year. January experienced similar declines to the second and third quarters of 2020, which directly followed the onset of the pandemic.

Read more...CRE Transactions Retreat in January After Closing 2020 with a Bang via GlobeSt

Federal Judge Finds CDC’s Eviction Moratorium Unconstitutional via GlobeSt

US District Judge John Barker in Texas has ruled that an eviction moratorium put in place by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last year and then extended until March is unconstitutional. The ruling does not affect states’ eviction moratoriums.

The judge did not issue a preliminary injunction.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit argued that the federal government does not have the authority to order property owners not to evict specific tenants; rather the decision whether to enact an eviction moratorium rests with a given state.

Read more...Federal Judge Finds CDC’s Eviction Moratorium Unconstitutional via GlobeSt

Multifamily Market Sees Record 4th Quarter: Newmark via Multi-Housing News Online

The fourth quarter of 2020 was the strongest quarter on record for the U.S. multifamily market, which saw investment sales volumes totaling $56.7 billion, up 115.2 percent quarter-over-quarter. Most of that volume came in December, when pent-up demand helped fuel nearly $25 billion in sales.

Despite the record fourth-quarter results and a strong third quarter, the multifamily market ended 2020 at $138.7 billion, down 27.6 percent from 2019 due to the market slowdown earlier in the year because of the COVID-19 crisis, according to the 4Q20 United States Multifamily Capital Markets Report from Newmark.

Read more...Multifamily Market Sees Record 4th Quarter: Newmark via Multi-Housing News Online

Dallas, Fort Worth renters rank high in U.S. for on-time payments via Dallas Business Journal

Some 87.5 percent of Dallas renters paid February rent on time — a relatively solid number compared to markets nationwide and amidst the coronavirus pandemic and related spike in unemployment.

Nationally, 79.2 percent of households had paid their rent for February through Feb. 6, according to the latest data from Richardson-based RealPage and the National Multifamily Housing Council’s Rent Payment Tracker.

Read more...Dallas, Fort Worth renters rank high in U.S. for on-time payments via Dallas Business Journal

ALN Monthly Market Stats February 2021 via ALN Apartment Data

ALN Data just released their January 2021 market 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 Market Stats February 2021 via ALN Apartment Data

Apartment Resident Retention Gets Messy via GlobeSt

After a decade when apartment resident retention gradually got better and better, it’s now harder for property owners and operators to hold onto renters in some metros and some apartment product segments.

Influencing that shift, the world has simply changed over the past year. Many households have experienced income disruptions, and sometimes challenges in employment have led to shifts in household composition. Even if there are no significant changes in household finances, more people working from home can shift choices in apartment location as well as space needs and preferences.

Read more...Apartment Resident Retention Gets Messy via GlobeSt

Behind on rent? Texans can soon apply for pandemic rental and utility assistance online and by phone via Dallas Morning News

Texans looking to tap $1 billion in stimulus money for rental assistance can apply for aid through the state, beginning Feb. 15.

The state created the program to administer rental assistance funds allocated under the most recent COVID-19 stimulus bill passed by Congress in December.

Read more...Behind on rent? Texans can soon apply for pandemic rental and utility assistance online and by phone via Dallas Morning News

Dallas beats out Austin as favorite Texas city for new residents during pandemic via CultureMap Dallas

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio recently tweeted a link to a Forbes article along with the following caption: "Move over Austin, because as the song says, if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere — and it’s easier than ever for young dreamers to make it in the greatest city in the world!"

Though it's a stretch to say de Blasio was trying to start a "feud," the tweet does illustrate the national hype surrounding Austin — from major news outlets reporting on a COVID-induced wave of people trading big cities for a better quality of life in Central Texas to companies such as Oracle moving their operations to the Capital City.

But new data from Redfin says it's actually not Austin pulling the most newcomers into Texas. It's ... Dallas.

Read more...Dallas beats out Austin as favorite Texas city for new residents during pandemic - CultureMap Dallas

Our K-shaped recovery: Dallas has regained almost all its lost jobs of the past year - if you exclude leisure and hospitality losses via Dallas Morning News

The pandemic economy has created sharply uneven outcomes, devastating some industries and families while improving the prospects for others.

The recovery is proceeding in a similar K-shaped fashion with some job sectors mired in high unemployment while others are posting strong growth.

Such disparities extend to regions, too. Consider this: By the end of December, the Dallas-Plano-Irving metro division had recovered nearly all its lost jobs over the previous 12 months -- if the hard-hit leisure and hospitality sector were excluded.

Read more...Our K-shaped recovery: Dallas has regained almost all its lost jobs of the past year - if you exclude leisure and hospitality losses via Dallas Morning News

Multifamily Fundamentals Expected to Stabilize By Q2 via GlobeSt

Multifamily fundamentals are expected to stabilize as soon as the second quarter of this year, according to new research from CBRE. In a new report, the firm says it expects “steady market recovery” through the second half of 2021.

Net absorption for multifamily during the fourth quarter of 2020 totaled 55,600 units, a number the firm described as “far better than expected” since leasing is normally anemic during these months of any year, as well as during recessions. Absorption for the past four quarters clocked in at 190,600 units, and suburban submarkets, smaller markets, and the Midwestern, Mountain West and Southeast regions fared better than average—as did Class B and C assets.

Read more...Multifamily Fundamentals Expected to Stabilize By Q2 via GlobeSt

What Q4 Tells Us About the Multifamily Market: CBRE via Multi-Housing News Online

CBRE’s Q4 U.S. Multifamily Figures report shows a sector still impacted by the COVID-19 crisis with average rent declining 1.6 percent for the quarter and 4.2 percent from the fourth quarter of 2019. But there were some bright spots, like Q4 net absorption coming in much higher than anticipated at 55,600 units, and investment volume marking a new quarterly high that indicates overall multifamily fundamentals should stabilize by the second quarter, with steady market recovery expected later in 2021.

Read more...What Q4 Tells Us About the Multifamily Market: CBRE via Multi-Housing News Online

A different kind of surge: Why Texas and D-FW are poised to lead a strong recovery when the pandemic fades via Dallas Morning News

Is it too soon to talk about green shoots?

We’re still in the throes of the pandemic economy with over 1 million Texans looking for work and an unemployment rate twice as high as a year ago.

But there are encouraging signs, including strong interest from outsiders, which has always been crucial to Texas’ growth story.

Read more...A different kind of surge: Why Texas and D-FW are poised to lead a strong recovery when the pandemic fades via Dallas Morning News

Houston Economic Indicators February 2021 via Dallas Fed

Recent indicators continue to portray an ongoing recovery hampered by the second wave of coronavirus infections. COVID-19 statistics for the Houston area worsened through mid-January, and weekly unemployment claims increased. However, COVID hospitalizations were easing heading into February and vaccinations of the general public were ramping up. Houston jobs continued to recover through the end of 2020, lagging the rest of Texas but on par with the nation. Local and international measures of manufacturing activity improved in December, while exports through Houston-area ports leveled off.

Read more... Houston Economic Indicators February 2021 via Dallas Fed

Austin Economic Indicators February 2021 via Dallas Fed

The Austin economy expanded in December as strong job growth and a lower unemployment rate boosted the Austin Business-Cycle Index. Recent COVID-19 hospitalizations have declined since peaking in mid-January. Regional consumer spending has held at pre-COVID-19 levels since early December. However, existing-home sales weakened in December.

Read more...Austin Economic Indicators February 2021 via Dallas Fed

Apartment Rents Are Near Pre-Pandemic Highs via GlobeSt

Average rents for US apartments now are within a hair of the all-time highs seen in early 2020, as more individual metros are moving back into price growth mode.

Across the country’s largest 150 metros, effective asking rents for new leases in January 2021 came in only 0.3% below the rates seen at the start of 2020, before the spread of COVID-19 and the resulting economic struggles led to rent cuts.

The nation’s average effective asking rent is now $1,382 per month.

Read more...Apartment Rents Are Near Pre-Pandemic Highs via GlobeSt

Texas Employment Forecast​ January 2021 via Dallas Fed

Texas employment grew an annualized 7.1 percent in December after increasing a revised 5.2 percent in November. Jobs had been rising since May, but they still ended the year down 4.5 percent from December 2019. The Texas Leading Index increased for the eighth consecutive month in December, indicating continued positive growth over the next six months.

Read more...Texas Employment Forecast​ January 2021 via Dallas Fed

DFW Economic Indicators February 2021 via Dallas Fed

Dallas–Fort Worth’s economic recovery gained some momentum in December, following softening in the previous month. Job growth accelerated and unemployment dipped, boosting the Dallas and Fort Worth business-cycle indexes. Apartment demand outpaced expectations in the fourth quarter, while absorption of office space remained negative. Strong industrial leasing activity kept vacancy stable and below its historical average, despite elevated supply.

Read more...Dallas-Fort Worth Economic Indicators February 2021 via Dallas Fed