This Week in Multifamily: Strengthening Fundamentals, More Normal Operations Resume

The apartment market’s performance outlook is holding up perhaps better than some had anticipated. June rent collections are comparable to last year’s showing and several markets managed to hold onto strong occupancy and rent growth. In fact, many apartments are preparing to resume more “normal” operations soon, re-opening amenity spaces and working through all those maintenance requests from the last three months.

Catch up on this week in multifamily news here.

By Mid-June, Rent Collections Match Pre-Pandemic Levels

About 89% of renters in professionally managed apartments had paid rent by June 13, according to the National Multifamily Housing Council. That rate is identical to June 2019’s showing, signaling that enhanced unemployment benefits in the CARES Act are working as intended. Plus, previously lagging Class C units are logging improved collection rates.

Some Markets Report Strong Fundamentals

The apartment market has thus far missed out on its usual spring and summer surge in demand, but there have been some spots where results are still relatively solid. Many of these markets are surprises stars, rarely positioned among national leaders for apartment performance.

Webcast: Resuming “Normal” Apartment Operations

As states have begun to re-open, apartment operators are attempting to return to pre-pandemic operations. Management experts from Camden Property Trust, AMLI and Kairoi Residential swap best practices for keeping residents safe while working through maintenance requests, leasing to new residents and policing social distancing in shared amenities. Watch the webcast on demand here.

For further reading on COVID-19 and the multifamily industry, check out these articles.

Once Booming San Francisco Apartment Market Goes in Reverse from The Wall Street Journal
Lower Income Households Have Significantly Less Confidence In Ability To Make Rent from National Multifamily Housing Council
When Workers Can Live Anywhere, Many Ask: Why Do I Live Here? from The Wall Street Journal
Rate of Collapsed Commercial Property Deals Climbs from Real Capital Analytics
Jobless Claims Show Another 1.5 Million Filings from The New York Times
NMHC Rent Payment Tracker Finds 89 Percent of Apartment Households Paid Rent as of June 13 from National Multifamily Housing Council