Getting Inside the Head of Today’s Online Renter, multifamily report now available.

apartment building investmentFrom my friend Heather over at Behind The Leasing Desk Consulting: “fact: I ♥ Satisfacts! Check out their new report on the mind of the online renter for some great insight into what your potential residents are thinking.”

From Satisfacts: “We asked, and now it’s ready for YOU. Getting Inside the Head of Today’s Online Renter is the most comprehensive analysis ever conducted in the industry on the impact of technology and social media on apartment marketing and operations.” Get the report here

 

Multifamily Sales Close Out 2011 on the Rise, Lead by Garden Style.

A recent report from New York–based commercial real estate research firm Real Capital Analytics (RCA) reveals that apartment sales figures closed out 2011 on a positive note. The firm’s “2011 Year in Review” report shows that the fourth quarter of 2011 netted $16.6 billion in sales, the highest quarterly volume racked up since 2007. This marks a 16 percent increase from the previous quarter and a 24 percent bump from fourth-quarter apartment sales in 2010. Among the more optimistic data revealed in the report was the rebound of garden-sector sales.

Garden properties ended up 47 percent ahead of the 2010 figures, and it appears that the sales momentum experienced in the fourth quarter will carry over into the first quarter this year. “Given the stable cap rate environment for garden properties, compared to sinking caps in mid-/high-rise, that trend is likely to continue in 2012,” projects Thypin.

See the whole AHF article here: Apartment Sales Close Out 2011 on the Rise

Seattle Area Multifamily Report now posted on Reis Reports- Caps flat, rents mixed but vacancy down

See the report here: http://bit.ly/xm8uUG

Zero Bound Interest Rates, The Zirp Dimension, Stagflation and #Multifamily

Zero interest rates and apartment building investment.

First my condolences to Bill Gross on the loss of his brother-in-law. Reading his piece in PIMCO’s latest Investment Outlook it is clear that the world’s biggest bond manager is running out of places to generate returns for their investors and by extension this applies to all income investors, especially retired people trying to live on interest income. For those would like to retire soon you may have to delay that decision for “an extended period’ as Edward Harrison over at Credit Writedowns put it in Permanent Zero and Personal Interest Income.

Gross’ points out that the Fed’s zero interest rate policy (ZIRP) which they have just announced to maintain through 2014 and their defacto though opaque continuation of quantitative easing (QE2.5 as he tweeted it) threaten to take us into another dimension where their policies have the opposite effect of their intentions.

“Much like the laws of physics change from the world of Newtonian large objects to the world of quantum Einsteinian dynamics, so too might low interest rates at the zero-bound reorient previously held models that justified the stimulative effects of lower and lower yields on asset prices and the real economy.” – Bill Gross

His bullet points:

  • ​ Recent central bank behavior, including that of the U.S. Fed, provides assurances that short and intermediate yields will not change, and therefore bond prices are not likely threatened on the downside.
  • Most short to intermediate Treasury yields are dangerously close to the zero-bound which imply limited potential room, if any, for price appreciation.
  • We can’t put $100 trillion of credit in a system-wide mattress, but we can move in that direction by delevering and refusing to extend maturities and duration.

For more views on this and Europe too see also Entering the Debt Dimension from Phil’s Picks on the Phil’s Stock World Blog.

What does this mean for Multifamily?

The Zirp Dimension leads to Stagflation where economic growth remains anemic yet prices on essential Continue reading Zero Bound Interest Rates, The Zirp Dimension, Stagflation and #Multifamily

The #Multifamily Asset Twilight Zone: In default but payments still being made. Opportunity or? Via @rshall03

A common theme adopted by the industry is that lenders continue to delay action on distressed assets for as long as possible.

The fact is that this scenario is borrower-specific. If a borrower is acting in good faith, the lender may allow the asset to continue operating, resulting in a commercial property “Twilight Zone.”

The Twilight Zone is made up of properties on which loans have defaulted or in which default is likely imminent, but the borrower is still willing to provide all available cash flow to the lender, even if it is not enough to cover the payments. The lender agrees to accept net rents and, in turn, keeps the building operational, albeit in a limbo period.

When the lender does finally pull the plug value opportunities can Continue reading The #Multifamily Asset Twilight Zone: In default but payments still being made. Opportunity or? Via @rshall03

Seattle Apartment Building Investment Cycle peaking or just taking a breather?

In his Q4 report on the Seattle multifamily market ARA’s Jim Claeys says:

Vacancies and Concessions UP

Absorption and Rents DOWN

New Construction Pipeline UP 140% from year ago

Also Home and Condo Sales UP 41, 70% respectively

Sounds kind of like the cycle is moving to the next phase doesn’t it? See the whole article here: This may be a good time for developers to reassess their projections

Top 10 Tips for Acquiring Distressed Multifamily Properties

Nice article in MHN Online, good tips and reminders. There are still plenty of properties worth less than the debt, and there are more foreclosures to come. Most of the distressed multifamily properties are B, C and D class properties. These properties can provide great returns with cap rates from 8 percent to 12 percent on existing income, and in most cases have plenty of vacancy for even more upside.

My top two that apply to all properties distressed or otherwise:

Good management: Distressed B, C and D properties require experienced and diligent asset and property management. Your management team should be top notch. Your turnaround plan should be realistic and properly implemented.

Talented leasing staff: Your leasing team should be properly motivated and for lease marketing extremely thorough. You want a well-thought-out, multi-disciplined lease up plan to stabilize properties in this cycle.

See the article here: http://bit.ly/xW6fZp