Multi-Housing News - October 2009 - (Page 8)

online news Multifamily Leads in Housing Starts Increase By Dees Stribling, Contributing Editor Housing starts and building permits in August were at their highest level all year, rising 1.5 percent to an annual rate of 598,000 units, while building permits were up 2.7 percent during the month, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. All the increase was in the multifamily segment of the market—starts spiked up 25.3 percent for multifamily, while single-family starts dropped 3 percent. The increase might be a fluke—hard to tell in this economy—or a glimmer of longer-term health in the multifamily real estate market. Still, things aren’t particularly rosy for the sector in the short term. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 2Q09 vacancies in U.S. multifamily properties (five units or more) stood at 12.2 percent, the highest since this kind of record-keeping started in 1968. Sameproperty rents were down 3.4 percent—also the largest decline on record—in 2Q09 compared with a year earlier, according to M/PF Research. Investment sales of multifamily properties ticked upward in the second quarter of 2009 to $2.8 billion, up 42.5 percent from an exceedingly slim volume in 1Q09. Compared with 2Q08, investment sales in 2Q09 were down by 71.9 percent. According to Real Capital Analytics, the properties that did trade in 2Q09 went for $85,407 per unit, down 8.2 percent from a year earlier. “For investors with an intermediate- to longerterm investment horizon, the American apartment industry offers superior return expectations to practically any other sector of real estate,” says NMHC President Doug Bibby. “From a demand perspective, demographics and household formations will strongly favor rental housing over the next decade with echo boomers, aging baby boomers, immigrants and non-traditional households all looking for more choices than a single-family house.” The long-term supply of apartment units probably won’t keep up with demand. “We’re fast approaching critical shortages in metro areas across the country,” says Bibby. “There have been years of over-investment in single-family houses and condos.” Supercharge your screening with 37 million consumer subprime and alternative credit records*— A ScorePLUS exclusive! If your screening doesn’t factor subprime and alternative credit data, you’re not seeing the whole picture of your applicants. Nearly 40% of applicants for rental housing have subprime or alternative credit history which includes data from payday loan companies, rental purchase stores, and other non-traditional credit companies. Not surprisingly, more than one-ﬁfth of these applicants lack traditional credit bureau history Some have higher risk and others are qualiﬁed potential residents you don’t want to turn away. But the only way to see them clearly is with ScorePLUS, the only screening model that factors 37 million consumer subprime and alternative credit records into every score. Supercharge your screening with subprime and alternative credit data. Visit www.ScorePLUSInfo.com or call 800-667-1615. Resident Screening Renters Insurance Benchmarking Lease and Document Generation Employment Screening * Provided by the leading provider of subprime and alternative credit data. ** Based on analysis of 1.5 million First Advantage SafeRent transactions. MHN ONLINE Sign up for MHN’s Daily newsletter at www.multi-housingnews.com/newsletters October 2009 | Multi-Housing News http://www.ScorePLUSInfo.com http://www.ScorePLUSInfo.com http://www.ScorePLUSInfo.com http://www.multi-housingnews.com/newsletters

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Multi-Housing News - October 2009

Multi-Housing News - October 2009
Contents
From the Editor
Executive Insight
News
Market Pulse
Finance: The Future of the GSEs
Investment: Transactions
Market Report: Midwest
Property Management
Development: Adaptive Reuse
Products
Technology

Multi-Housing News - October 2009