MHN’s April 2020 Must-Reads
Catch up on our most important stories, interviews and analyses for last month.
Going into April, one of the major concerns in the industry was whether residents will afford to pay their rent for the month, as a record number of workers filed unemployment claims. The first signs that this wouldn’t be an issue came in early April, with NMHC data reflecting that a majority of residents paid April rent. By the middle of the month, the share of renters who paid full or partial rent increased to 84 percent, and a week later to 89 percent, with a 250 basis points rise toward the end of the month. However, as the employment market has been heavily impacted by the pandemic, industry experts predict that rent payment for this month is likely to be less robust compared to the previous month.
A series of measures meant to help the industry weather the crisis is bolstering the U.S. apartment sector, according to a Marcus & Millichap report. Among the strategies to help residents get through the current rough patch is offering them more rent flexibility, as detailed by Dana Caudell, president of property management at The Bainbridge Cos. By mid-April, Freddie Mac updated its Multifamily COVID-19 forbearance program to enhance protections for borrowers and renters.
To better understand what this period means for the industry, we hosted a series of 30-minute “Snap Session” webinars focused on the impact of COVID-19 on gym amenities and the best practices for property managers across the U.S.
In April, we also analyzed the effects of the pandemic on different property types. We looked at how the student housing sector has been shaken amid uncertainty over the crisis, while also talking about one of the hardest-hit sectors—with the outbreak placing pressure on senior housing, the sector continues to face staffing and supply shortages. Additionally, industry experts offered tips for keeping residents of affordable and low-income communities healthy and safe during the pandemic. At the same time, shared housing operators, which have also been forced to adapt to the new conditions, share some of their strategies to address the crisis.
Here are MHN’s must-reads for last month:
