Apartment Boom Nears Its End via GlobeSt.com

Senior housing economist David Schulman published an economic letter in the UCLA Zinman Center for Real Estate with some compelling observations about the home market. Most notably, Schulman predicts that the apartment boom will start to see strain by the end of 2016 as the homeownership market picks up and puts downward pressure on rents. He expects new construction levels to negatively impact apartment vacancies.

“Our guess is that the old average of 1.5 million units will be the new peak in the coming years. Longer-term demographics and affordability issues are beginning to work against the demand for housing,” Schulman tells GlobeSt.com. “With developers building for the top of the market for high-income renters, they may not yet to be cognizant of this trend, but they will soon find out that the high-end apartment market might not be as deep as they think.”

Read more...Apartment Boom Nears Its End - Daily News Article - GlobeSt.com

Affordable Housing: Lowest Income Households Most Exposed in Supply Shortage via Property Management Insider

The number of renter households grows and multifamily construction continues to be robust, but the lack of designated affordable housing remains a pressing issue for the multifamily industry. Strong absorption of market-rate apartments continues to place pressure on households that must rely on affordable housing. More specifically, latest data from the American Housing Survey indicate households with extremely low incomes (30% of area median income and less) are feeling the most stress, as this group has grown faster than the supply of designated affordable product entering the market and higher income households have more choices in terms of location and product class in local apartment markets.

Read more...Affordable Housing: Lowest Income Households Most Exposed in Supply Shortage | Property Management Insider

DFW Economic Indicators October 2015 via Dallas Fed

The Dallas–Fort Worth economy expanded at a fast clip to close the third quarter. The metroplex created jobs at a 2.1 percent rate in the quarter, outpacing both the state at 1.6 percent and the nation at 1.4. Home prices rose further in July, and activity in the office market remained solid in the third quarter. Unemployment held steady in Dallas but ticked up in Fort Worth in September. Dallas Fed business-cycle indexes point to continued growth for the metroplex.

Read more...DFW Economic Indicators October 2015 via Dallas Fed

5 Tips to Saving Big Money Managing Apartment Utilities via Property Management Insider

More and more, all eyes are on energy and water usage. Investors, property owners and even residents pay close attention to utility bills. In some areas, local and state regulators require that energy performance be reported to the Environmental Protection Agency.

The impact of utilities may seem to affect either the property or resident, but it actually touches both. Certainly, the effect of utilities on an apartment’s operating costs varies depending on whether the community is master-metered or individual-metered. In the National Apartment Association’s 2015 Income & Expense Survey, only 3 percent of a property’s total expenses are from utilities if the property is individual-metered, compared to 8.1 percent – third-highest – for master-metered.

Read more...5 Tips to Saving Big Money Managing Apartment Utilities | Property Management Insider

Rent.com 2015 Rental Market Report via PropertyManager.com

Rent.com just released it’s annual market report citing research done on hundreds of property managers, thousands of rental properties, and hundreds of thousands of rental units across the country. The current rental market is experiencing the lowest vacancy rates in nearly 20 years. This is good news for property managers, who have reported a decrease in their rental vacancies. There are more prospective tenants to choose from and less of a need to negotiate rental prices. Rental rates continue to rise, making it a great time to be a property manager.

Read more...Rent.com 2015 Rental Market Report | PropertyManager.com

Houston Economic Indicators October 2015 via Dallas Fed

The Houston Business-Cycle Index declined at an annual rate of 1.9 percent in August. July’s growth rate was revised down from 5.9 percent to 4.4 percent. Upstream energy (oilfield-related employment and manufacturing) weakness continues to be at least partially offset by strength in downstream energy (refining and petrochemicals). Leisure and hospitality and health care, two sectors driven in part by Houston’s robust population growth, also continue to log solid gains. On whole, the outlook for Houston is for job growth to remain flat.

Read more...Houston Economic Indicators October 2015 via Dallas Fed

Texas job growth spiked for the month, year in September via Dallas Business Journal

Employers in Texas added jobs for the seventh consecutive month in September. During the month of September, Texas added 26,600 nonfarm seasonally adjusted jobs. Over the past year, Texas employers have increased payrolls by 224,800 positions since September 2014.

“With the Texas economy continuing to generate a steady growth of jobs, our employers and jobseekers have a definite competitive advantage when seeking the many opportunities available in our Lone Star State,” said Texas Workforce Commission Chairman Andres Alcantar in a news release.

Read more...Texas job growth spiked for the month, year in September - Dallas Business Journal

Special Report: How Long Will Multifamily Defy Gravity? via Commercial Property Executive

Are multifamily developers and investors getting out over their skis?

At a time of sky-high optimism in the sector, only a minority would probably answer “yes.” Yet in sizing up today’s favorable economic and demographic trends, a trio of experts grappled with that question at a national conference in Las Vegas last week.

Ryan Severino, the senior economist & director of research for REIS Inc., offered particularly strong caveats about Class A supply and demand during the annual event organized by Multifamily Executive. “It’s going to be very challenging going forward because everybody and their mother is building apartments today,” Severino warned his audience of several hundred professionals on Oct. 6. “Be careful—it’s not going to be as easy over the next four or five years.”

Read more...Special Report: How Long Will Multifamily Defy Gravity? | Commercial Property Executive

Dallas Beige Book October 2015 via Dallas Fed

The Eleventh District economy grew at a moderate pace over the past six weeks. Manufacturing demand increased, and retail and auto sales grew. Demand for nonfinancial services held steady or improved, except for some transportation services. Real estate activity remained solid overall, and loan demand rose steadily. Demand for oil field services was still depressed, and lower oil prices dampened outlooks. Price pressures remained subdued and employment held steady or increased.

Read more...Dallas Beige Book - Dallas Fed

ALN Monthly Newsletter October 2015 via ALN Apartment Data

ALN Data just released their September 2015 stats on occupancy and rents for 23 markets. In Texas, it includes DFW, Austin, Houston, San Antonio, Lubbock, Amarillo, Abilene and Corpus Christi. It is a must read from a great provider of apartment data.

Read more...ALN Monthly Newsletter October 2015 via ALN Apartment Data