Apartment Rent Payment Results at 86.8% in Mid-October

The National Multifamily Housing Council reports that 86.8% of households living in the country’s stock of professionally-managed market-rate apartment properties have paid rent for October as of the 13th.

The latest results fall 2.4 percentage points under the 89.2% payment level recorded through October 13, 2019. Collections for the second week in October specifically were a little light relative to the typical pace. After payments in the initial week of October had matched year-earlier results, we now seen the return of the modest gap in collections that was typical since this research was initiated in April.

The findings come from the National Multifamily Housing Council’s Rent Payment Tracker research, compiling information provided by five technology firms, including RealPage, Inc., for more than 11 million market-rate apartment units.

Previous Patterns Hold in Property Class Payments

As has been seen since the COVID pandemic began, rent collections remain better in the upper-end and mid-range apartments than in the lower-tier properties. RealPage stats show October payments through the 13th at 89.3% to 89.4% in both the Class A and Class B blocks of product.

Collection levels are lower at 81.7% in Class C projects. As is normal, Class C payments climbed notably in the month’s second week (up from 71.9% a week earlier), reflecting that it takes some apartment operators a few days to process the checks that generally are the method of payment preferred by renters in Class C properties.

Metro-Level Results Vary

Among the country’s big metros, Providence once again ranks as the rent payment leader, as 96.9% of the residents of the area’s professionally-managed properties have met their rent obligations. Fort Lauderdale registers a payment level of 94%, and the number is a little above 93% across Austin, Virginia Beach, Sacramento, Riverside and San Diego.

Collection levels through October 13 are considerably weaker in a few spots. Once again, the laggards include New York (a 76.9% payment rate), New Orleans (83.5%) and Las Vegas (84.8%).

The payment levels trail year-earlier results by at least 4 percentage points across New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Boston, Portland and Seattle.