WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) has reported that 79.3 percent of apartment households have paid August rent as of Aug. 6. NMHC surveyed its network of 11.4 million professionally managed units as part of its Rent Payment Tracker metric. The latest figure is a decrease of 233,000 households, or 1.9 percent, from August 2019. However, the total number of those paying rent is an increase from July 6, 2020, in which 77.4 percent paid rent. President Donald Trump over the weekend signed an extension of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act that provides unemployment benefits for citizens who have lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 outbreak. David Schwartz, NMHC chairman and CEO and chairman of Chicago-based Waterton, says that the CARES Act has been instrumental in helping millions of renters pay their rent. “Over the past few months apartment residents have largely been able to meet their housing obligations,” says Schwartz.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. economy added nearly 1.8 million jobs in July and the unemployment rate fell 90 basis points to 10.2 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported Friday. The uptick on nonfarm payroll employment beat expectations as economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal anticipated just under 1.5 million jobs to be added. Though the latest job tally surpassed expectations, Ball State University economist Michael Hicks cautions against drawing sweeping conclusions. The employment-to-population ratio is more than 5 percent below the level from July 2019 and more than 3.5 million workers have exited the labor force in the past few months. Hicks says if those 3.5 million workers were included in the jobs report, the unemployment rate would be 250 basis points higher. “Permanent job losses continue to increase, but temporary losses appear to be nearly fully recovered,” he said. “This means roughly 10 percent of those working in January remain unemployed, with no evidence of improving prospects for re-employment.” Employment surged in the leisure and hospitality sector, having added 592,000 jobs, making up for one-third of the overall monthly growth. The sector lost 8.2 million jobs in March and April, though has begun to reclaim …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the $19.1 million sale of Griffin Apartments at Petworth Metro, a 49-unit multifamily community in Washington, D.C.’s Petworth neighborhood. The property, which was built in 2011, offers one- and two-bedroom floor plans. Communal amenities include bike storage, an Amazon Hub package delivery system and 24-hour maintenance services. The property is situated at 3801 Georgia Ave. NW, one block from the Petworth Metro Station and three miles north of downtown D.C. Christian Barreiro and Marty Zupancic of Marcus & Millichap brokered the transaction between the seller, Donatelli Development, and the buyer, Virginia-based Viking Capital.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Nearly 1.2 million Americans filed for first-time unemployment assistance during the week ending Aug. 1. The latest figure is the lowest weekly total since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected 1.4 million claims for the week. There have now been 20 consecutive weeks of initial claims totaling more than 1 million filings. The four-week moving average was 1.3 million claims, a decrease of 31,000 from the previous four-week average. Additionally, continuing claims dipped by 844,000 to 16.1 million.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In its midyear multifamily outlook report, Freddie Mac predicts U.S. multifamily loan originations will drop severely for all of 2020 due to the outbreak of COVID-19 and the big blow the virus has dealt the U.S. economy. The gross domestic product from April to June plunged 32.9 percent on an annualized basis, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. The government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) is projecting that loan volume will decrease 20 to 41 percent across the multifamily sector this year compared with the total dollar amount of loans closed by lenders in 2019, which Freddie Mac estimates was $374 billion. Heading into this year, Freddie Mac expected that loan originations would increase 5 percent in 2020 to $390 billion. Depending on the overall strength of the U.S. recovery and the further spread of COVID-19, Freddie Mac outlined two scenarios for how the year will play out. The more optimistic scenario calls for the unemployment rate to fall just below 8 percent by the end of the year. The U.S. unemployment rate, which stood at 11.1 percent at the end of June, will be updated Friday when the Department of Labor releases the nonfarm payroll employment report for July. …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — JLL has arranged the $49 million sale of The Shaw, an eight-story, 69-unit multifamily community in Washington, D.C.’s Shaw neighborhood. The property offers studio to four-bedroom floor plans. Communal amenities include a virtual front desk, a rooftop terrace and package lockers. Delivered this year, the asset is located at 618 T St. NW, one mile northeast of downtown Washington, D.C. Walter Coker, Brian Crivella and Robert Jenkins of JLL represented the seller, Monument Realty, in the transaction. A joint venture between Shimizu Realty Development Inc. and Capital Security Advisors LLC acquired the property in an all-cash deal.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — First-time unemployment claims again increased on a week-over-week basis. During the week ending July 25, 1.4 million Americans filed for assistance, an increase of 12,000 from the previous week but less than the 1.5 million claims estimate from economists surveyed by Dow Jones. Prior to the week ending July 18, there were 15 straight weeks of decreasing claims. For the week ending July 18, continuing claims stood at just over 17 million, an 867,000 increase from the previous week. (Data on continuing claims is delayed by one week.) Some states and municipalities have begun to roll back reopenings of schools and businesses, causing the unemployment numbers to tick back up. Additionally, the U.S. Commerce Department reported Thursday morning that the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) in the second quarter shrunk at an annual rate of 32.9 percent. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones were expecting a decrease of 34.7 percent.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Wells Fargo has provided $385 million in financing for a 1,255-unit, three-property multifamily portfolio in metro Washington, D.C. The borrower, JBG Smith, received the three separate Freddie Mac loans. The properties in the portfolio are The Bartlett and 220 20th Street in Northern Virginia’s National Landing submarket and 1221 Van St. in D.C. JBG Smith developed 1221 Van Street in 2018 and acquired the other two properties in 2017. The Bethesda, Md.-based company manages all three communities. The loans each feature 10-year terms with floating interest rates underwritten at LIBOR plus 251 basis points. Each loan also features five-year interest-only payment period and are not cross-collateralized or cross-defaulted with each other.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — For the first time since March, the number of Americans filing first-time unemployment claims increased on a week-over-week basis. The U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday morning that more than 1.4 million people filed for assistance during the week ending July 18, an increase of 109,000 from the previous week. It is the first weekly increase in 15 weeks. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected an increase of 1.3 million claims. The four-week moving average stood at 1.4 million, a decrease of 16,500 from the previous four-week average.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The advanced estimate for June retail sales nationwide is up 7.5 percent on a month-over-month basis, the U.S. Commerce Department reports. Consumers visited stores and auto dealerships in-person for the second straight month as businesses began reopening their doors. Retail sales totaled $524.3 billion in June, up from $487.7 billion in May. The most recent figure shows spending is near pre-pandemic levels, as the Commerce Department reported that February 2020 spending reached $527.3 billion. The Commerce Department also revised the May retail sales rate up by 50 basis points to 18.2 percent growth from April. Matthew Shay, president and CEO of the National Retail Federation (NRF), says that while the growth is trending positively, the increasing number of positive COVID-19 cases across the country could slow sales in the months to come. As of this writing, there were nearly 3.6 million positive cases in the U.S, according to Johns Hopkins University (JHU). Additionally, JHU reports that there were 77,255 new cases Thursday, setting a single-day record. “The retail sales numbers from last month were very encouraging and reflect continued progress in the right direction,” says Shay. “However, recent spikes in infection rates across the country have us focused …