Author: Brad Beckett

According to the latest Yardi Matrix Multifamily Report, the average U.S. multifamily rent was $1,709 in December, 2023 – the 5th straight month of declines.  However, Yardi says year-over-year growth was unchanged, finishing 2023 at 0.3%. “With all that said, how worried should the market be going into 2024? While it is prudent to prepare for downside scenarios, conditions may not be as weak as they appear on the surface.” “…most importantly, household formation and the strong job market should continue to maintain demand. Apartment absorption totaled 285,000 in 2023 through November, per Matrix, which is in line with recent…

With winter upon us, especially in the northern areas of the country, today’s graphics from Weather.gov are a good reminder about how to react to snow.  Please be sure to share them.  Stay safe and have a Happy Friday!! Hat tip to Weather.gov.

Apartment List says their national median rent fell 0.8% to $1,379 – marking the 5th straight month of negative rent growth.  However they say while declines are in line with the market’s typical seasonal pattern, this year’s dip has been a bit sharper than what is normally seen. Year-over-year rent growth has bottomed out but remains in negative territory at -1 percent, meaning that on average, apartments across the country are slightly cheaper today than they were one year ago. This stands in sharp contrast to the prevailing conditions of 2021 and 2022, when rent prices were surging and year-over-year…

In their Three Keys to Watch in 2024 report, ATTOM says that despite steep interest rates, little residential inventory, and falling sales, 2023 stood up fairly well.  They say it might provide a “solid basis” for 2024. However, they ask, was the real estate glass half full or half empty in 2023? And what about 2024? Their three key areas to watch are: Appreciation, Affordability, and Reality We’re Winning the War on Inflation. Maybe. Will The Inventory Problem Persist? Click here to read the full report at ATTOM.

The National Association of Realtors announced in a statement in early January that their President, Tracy Kasper, has resigned after receiving a “threat to disclose a past personal, non-financial matter unless she compromised her position at NAR.”  According to the NAR statement, she reported the incident to law enforcement and chose to step down for the good of the organization.  President-elect Kevin Sears will step into the role of NAR President, effective immediately. “As president and a long-time member of NAR, I always have put the interests of NAR first. As a result of the recent threat and given the…

According to the latest U-Haul annual Growth Index, Florida dominated their growth cities list again in 2023, with the Palm Bay-Melbourne market netting the largest number of movers in one-way U-Haul equipment last year.  The U-Haul Growth Index found seven Florida markets among the top 25 growth cities – marking the 7th year in a row Florida has had the most cities represented. U-Haul calculates growth cities by each city’s net gain (or loss) of one-way equipment from customer transactions in a calendar year. The U-Haul Growth Index is compiled from more than 2.5 million one-way U-Haul truck, trailer and…

Recent analysis from the NAHB’s Eye on Housing says that $129 billion in taxes were paid by property owners in Q3 of 2023.  They point out that In the four quarters ending Q3 2023, state & local governments collected $757 billion of property tax revenue—an 11.6% increase over Q3 2022.  Indeed… “The year-over-year growth rate of property tax revenue (trailing four-quarter total) has climbed from 1.7% to 11.6% since Q1 2022. Growth has exceeded 10% for three consecutive quarters for the first time since 2009. Gains have been driven by rising home value assessments, which can lag market prices by…

According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 216k, in December 2023, with the unemployment rate coming in at 3.7% (the same as November).  Interesting, looking back over 2023, government added an average of 56k jobs per month – more than double the average monthly gain of 23k in 2022! Click here to read the full report at the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The U.S. government is reporting that total construction spending in November, 2023 was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $2,050.1 billion, which is 0.4% higher than October’s revised estimate and 11.3% higher than one year ago.  Residential construction came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $896.8 billion in November, which is 1.1% higher than October’s revised estimate. Click here to read the full report at the U.S. Census Bureau.

Last summer we posted about the ratio of  unmarried men to women.  Now comes some Census data recently analyzed by Statista that shows that Americans are getting married at an older age than ever.  They point out that median average age for men to first get married has risen to 30.2 years in 2023, while for women the figure is 28.4 years.  As always, stay safe and have a Happy Friday!!! Hat tip to Statista.