Apartment Conditions Improve But Still Below Par- NMHC July Survey

All four of the indexes in National Multi-Housing Council’s July survey improved but remained below the 50 better/worse boundary bringing the average up to 46 from 39.

The biggest improvement was in the Continue reading Apartment Conditions Improve But Still Below Par- NMHC July Survey

Apartment Loan Rates Continue To Drift Lower- June 2017

The apartment investment loan rates we track have continued their downward trend. In March the 10yr loan (details below) hit 4.92%, the highest its been since February 2014, and has drifted lower since coming in at 4.48% this week. That and the Continue reading Apartment Loan Rates Continue To Drift Lower- June 2017

Fed Chair Yellen- Maybe we are turning Japanese

Actual and Expected Inflation in Japan
“Here, Japan’s recent history may be instructive: As shown in figure 9, survey measures of longer-term expected inflation in that country remained positive and stable even as that country experienced many years of persistent, mild deflation.” – Janet Yellen Sep. 24, 2015

Was talking about this just last week (again):

As a value guy like you it’s hard to figure out how buying something in the sixes on cap rate works out to be a good deal. But what if the Fed is trapped at the Zero Lower Bound and we are turning Japanese? Their ‘Lost Decade’ is now old enough to graduate with a Master’s degree and we’re following the exact same playbook. I offer last week’s Fed decision as exhibit #1. They would dearly love to raise rates just to prove they can but there’s just thin ice between us and

Continue reading Fed Chair Yellen- Maybe we are turning Japanese

10yr Apartment Building Loan Rate Back On It’s Meds at 4.375%

10 year apartment building investment loan rates
Click on image for full size.

After showing signs of life in June and July the 10yr apartment building investment loan rate we track seems to be fully anesthetized once again and is resting comfortably at 4.375%. Meanwhile the ULI rate seemed to be steadily working its way lower, following the ten year Treasury down which got as low as 2.01%. That all ended with the Chinese stock market melt down and currency devaluation a couple weeks ago and drove the ULI rate up 27bp to 3.82%.

Chinese stock market has only fallen back to where it was in February
Click on image for full size.

Interestingly despite all the panic about the Continue reading 10yr Apartment Building Loan Rate Back On It’s Meds at 4.375%

Apartment Financing Hits An Air Pocket in Latest NMHC Survey

Apartment Building Investment Lending Conditions July 2015

The National Multifamily Housing Council’s NMHC Quarterly Survey is out now and three of the four categories held fairly steady but the availability of  debt financing dropped twenty five points from sixty to thirty five. A reading below fifty indicates worsening conditions and the report on the survey said that with Continue reading Apartment Financing Hits An Air Pocket in Latest NMHC Survey

Treasury rates are up but…

10 year Treasury rates vs. apartment builiding investment loan rates thru July 2015
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For this month’s post on apartment building investment loan rates and the key 10yr Treasury (T10) we’re looking at the longer trend back to the beginning of 2013. The news has been full of talk about rising interest rates but looking at the chart above we can see that while the T10 is up off its recent low of 1.68% in the end of January it’s still more than 50 basis points below the highs it hit in September and December 2013 (2.98% and 3.04% respectively).

In turn the 10 year apartment loan we track has been treading water around the 4.3% mark for the last nine months and essentially it’s back to where it was in early 2013 before the Continue reading Treasury rates are up but…

Aided by falling spread, apartment loan rate fights its way back below 4.5%.

10 year apartment building investment loan rates June 2015
Click on image for full size.

The apartment building investment loan rate we track moved down from last week’s 4.532% to just under 4.5 at 4.489% aided by the spread to the 10yr Treasury (T10) compressing to 2.142 versus the week earlier 2.185. Meanwhile the T10 and the ULI rate seem determined to raise rates even if the Fed doesn’t act. And Greece is set to Continue reading Aided by falling spread, apartment loan rate fights its way back below 4.5%.

Are Interest Rates Caught in a Catch 22?

Are interest rates caught in a Catch-22? What if the Fed is waiting to raise rates until the economy is growing stronger but the economy won’t grow stronger until rates go up?

10 year Treasury Rates June 2014 - May 2015

For three years everyone has ‘known’ that interest rates were going up but other than during the Taper Tantrum of June 2013 which affected loan rates more than Treasuries, the T10 only moved up to the 2.75% area which was just picking itself off the floor of 1.66 where it got down to in May that year.

The Fed would like to raise rates, if for no other reason than to prove they aren’t turning Japanese by leaving rates low for two and a half ‘Lost Decades’. They’d also like to have room to lower them again if the economy dips back into recession (Note Q1 GDP was just revised down to -.7% that’s Continue reading Are Interest Rates Caught in a Catch 22?

Apartment Building Investment Loan Rate Continues Its Steady State

The apartment building investment loan rate we track remains at 4.375% where it landed back in the middle of January. Other than a brief one-week visit to 3.396% back in March which wasn’t even enough to move the chart line it’s been steady as she goes:

Apartment Building Investment Loan Rate April 2015
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With the 10year Treasury dipping below 2% the spread has been widening as 4.375% seems to be the new 4.5%. Once again people are expecting rates to go up later in the year (is this the third or fourth year for that prediction?) but the Fed and the Government have been following the Japanese model step for step and their Ushinawareta Jūnen (Lost Decade) is old enough to drink and will be graduating college soon. I’m not sure why anyone thinks this time will be different just because we’re talking dollars instead of Yen. But there is this:

That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all lessons that history has to teach. – Aldous Huxley

In other news Susan Persin, Senior Director of Research at Trepp has Continue reading Apartment Building Investment Loan Rate Continues Its Steady State

10 Year Apartment Building Investment Loan Rate Drops Another 6 Basis Points Today

The 10 year fixed rate apartment building investment loan we track fell 6 basis points (bp) to 4.369% today. (See loan details below):

10 year Treasury vs. Apartment Building Investment Loan Rate
Click on image for full size

That drop doesn’t show up on the chart very well but it’s the first change in the rate since the middle of January when it had been flatlining at 4.5% since the end of November. Meanwhile the T10 (10yr. Treasury) had been working its way higher since hitting 1.68% in the end of January which in turn has been reducing the spread between the two rates from the 2.5% range down below 2.25% and coming in to 2.169 today. I expect the Continue reading 10 Year Apartment Building Investment Loan Rate Drops Another 6 Basis Points Today