Like many other markets across the country, the Washington, D.C., multifamily market was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Vacancy is up and asking rents are down. However, Washington’s unique renter class, made up heavily of students and young professionals, and the region’s main economic drivers will fuel a quick post-COVID-19 recovery. As we close out 2020, multifamily investors have reason to remain confident in a quick bounceback in 2021. Once the virus hit, many offices switched to a remote work environment, and many of the local universities switched to remote learning. We know that this fueled an exodus of renters from the city to their parents’ basements, to greener pastures in the suburbs or to areas with a lower cost of living. At one of our market-rate listings in a core neighborhood of Northwest D.C., property managers reported an immediate 10-basis-point increase in vacancies the day that George Washington University closed its campus for the fall 2020 semester. Entering the fourth quarter, the Washington MSA recorded the highest vacancy rate on record, breaking 6 percent for the first time, according to research from CoStar Group. Average asking rents are down approximately 3 percent this year, and the pain is …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. economy added 49,000 jobs in January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported Friday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had expected the report to show a gain of 50,000 jobs, which is a muted expectation compared to Citigroup’s forecast of 250,000 new jobs, according to CNBC. The unemployment rate fell by 40 basis points to 6.3 percent in January. There were notable job gains in professional and business services, as well as public and private education in January. However, these gains were offset by losses in leisure and hospitality, health care, transportation, warehousing and in retail trade. The leisure and hospitality sector took a big hit, losing 61,000 jobs this month, following 536,000 jobs in December. A majority of the losses came in amusements, gambling and recreation (negative 27,000). Employment in food services and drinking places continued to trend down by 19,000 jobs. Since February 2020, employment in leisure and hospitality is down by 3.9 million jobs, or 22.9 percent. Employment in local government education increased by 49,000, state government education increased by 36,000 and private education increased by 34,000 in January. According to the BLS, pandemic-related employment declines in 2020 in public and …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — An additional 779,000 Americans have filed for first-time unemployment assistance for the week ending Jan. 30, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected the number of claims for the week to total 830,000. The number of weekly claims is at its lowest level since late November 2020, according to CNBC. The most recent figure was a slight decrease from the previous week’s revised number of 812,000, but still remains significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels. The four-week moving average was revised down by 1,250 to 848,250. The continuing claims, data for which trails a week, totaled nearly 4.6 million claims for the week ending Jan. 23, a decrease of 193,000 from the previous week’s revised level.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The District of Columbia Housing Finance Agency (DCHFA) has financed a 112-unit affordable housing development in Washington, D.C.’s Anacostia neighborhood on the city’s southeast side. Mid-Atlantic Realty Partners and Taylor Adams Associates are the borrowers and co-developers of the $52.6 million development. DCHFA financed the project with a $27 million in tax-exempt bond financing and the underwriting of $20.6 million in 4 percent low income housing tax credits (LIHTC). Additionally, the DC Department of Housing and Community Development is providing a $16.5 million loan from its Housing Production Trust Fund for the property. The new community will be located at 2442 Martin Luther King Ave SE, just 500 feet from the Anacostia Metro Station. The apartments will be priced at 30 to 50 percent of area median income relative to Ward 8’s Anacostia neighborhood. The property will consist of 24 one-bedroom, 57 two-bedroom and 31 three-bedroom apartments. Six units will be designated Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) units and will be supported by the Local Rent Supplement Program. Community Connections of DC will provide supportive services for the residents of the PSH units. The community’s planned amenities include a business center, community room and a parking garage with …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — An additional 847,000 Americans have filed for first-time unemployment assistance for the week ending Jan. 23. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected the total number of claims to reach 875,000. The most recent figure was a slight decrease from the previous week’s revised number of 914,000, but still remains significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels. The four-week moving average was revised up by 16,250 to 868,000. The continuing claims, data for which trails a week, totaled 4.7 million claims for the week ending Jan. 16, a decrease of 203,000 from the previous week’s revised level. Separately, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an annualized rate of 4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020, which came 30 basis points below estimates from economists surveyed by Dow Jones. The GDP grew at an annualized rate of 33.4 percent in the third quarter of 2020. Overall in 2020, real GDP declined by 3.5 percent, compared with a 2.2 percent increase in 2019.
The Washington, D.C. metropolitan area has been a perennial favorite for multifamily capital, particularly pension funds, life companies, family offices and other institutional investors and is often regarded as “recession-proof.” However, as we all know, 2020 was a year like no other. What impacts have COVID-19 and recent economic turmoil had on this market’s luster, and what do the prospects look like for investors, owners and operators in the long term? An Economy Buffered by Government and Technology The D.C. Metro’s response to the crisis has been one of the most robust, with local the economy currently 90 percent + open for business and no signs of a dip back into lockdown. From the initial shutdowns in March 2020 to the continued uncertainty of today, cities with heavy representation in retail, tourism and service sectors have experienced significant economic repercussions from COVID-19. In Washington, D.C., by contrast, having the federal government as the city’s largest employer has served as a major buffer. D.C. experienced a particularly acute government-mandated economic shutdown from March to May. While payroll performance in the District of Columbia’s leisure and hospitality sector declined nearly 60 percent from May 2019 to May 2020, jobs in this sector …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Another 900,000 Americans have filed first-time unemployment insurance claims for the week ending Jan. 16, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday. The most recent figure is a decrease of 39,000 claims from the previous week’s revised level of 926,000, but still remains higher than pre-pandemic levels. Initial weekly claims hovered around 200,000 in January and February of last year. The four-week moving average increased by 23,500 claims to 848,000 for the week ending Jan. 16. Continuing claims — for which data lags a week — totaled just under 5.1 million for the week ending Jan. 9. The number is a 127,000-claim decrease from the week ending Jan. 2.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Retail sales during the 2020 holiday season — the period from Nov. 1 to Dec. 31 — grew 8.3 percent year-over-year and beat expectations, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF). The association had predicted holiday shopping sales to grow between 3.6 and 5.2 percent year-over-year. “Despite unprecedented challenges, consumers and retailers demonstrated incredible resilience this holiday season,” says NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay. “Faced with rising transmission of the virus, state restrictions on retailers and heightened political and economic uncertainty, consumers chose to spend on gifts that lifted the spirits of their families and friends and provided a sense of normalcy given the challenging year.” In a separate report released Friday, the U.S. Commerce Department reported that retail sales in December totaled $540.9 billion, a 0.7 percent decrease from November 2020’s revised level of $544.6 billion.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — An additional 965,000 Americans filed for first-time unemployment assistance for the week ending Jan. 9, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected the total to reach 800,000, similar to the previous week’s revised total of 784,000. A main reason for the increase in claims is further government restrictions due to the spike in COVID-19 cases and deaths. According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), there have been 384,794 deaths in the United States since the onset of the pandemic, with more than 4,400 recorded Tuesday alone. The four-week moving average increased by 18,250 claims to 834,250 for the week. Continuing claims, for which data is a week behind, totaled 5.3 million for the week ending Jan. 2, an increase of 199,000 claims over the previous week.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) Rent Payment Tracker has found that 76.6 percent of residents made full or partial January rent payments as of Jan. 6. Washington, D.C.-based NMHC surveyed its network of 11.3 million professionally managed apartment units across the country. The most recent figure is a 120-basis point increase over Dec. 6, 2020, when 75.4 percent of households made partial or full payments. January 2021, however, showed a 170-basis point decrease — or 192,613 households — from January 2020. “While there is light at the end of the tunnel with the rollout of vaccines, the country and the multifamily industry continue to face steep challenges,” says Doug Bibby, president of NMHC. “The [U.S. Congress’] recently passed COVID relief package included $25 billion in desperately needed rental assistance, as well as expanded unemployment insurance. Now, it is critical that those funds reach those in need as quickly and efficiently as possible.” The NMHC Rent Payment Tracker is powered by Entrata, MRI Software, RealPage, ResMan and Yardi.