On our most recent call, we continued what is now an almost 2-month long trend as participants reported consistent improvement in leasing:
However, urban coastal markets continue to lag in leasing more than the rest of the nation. They are improving, as indicated by one operator sharing, "Leasing has been great over the past two weeks, but we are still down 29% on year-to-date applications. We haven't quite caught up, but if we can [sustain this] pace going forward, that will definitely be nice."
The improved leasing performance has not come without its costs. Rents are clearly down, as participants shared:
The Gathering Storm
This brings us back to the topic of last week's blog: while we are grateful for less pain than we expected, we are concerned that this could lead to complacency in the face of storm clouds not-too-distant future. We, therefore, have our eyes on September as a critical time for the industry. To recap on the reasons why:
Anyone who tells you they know what will happen in the fall is either trying to fool you or is fooling themselves (or both). Being ready for turbulence from September onwards has more to do with disciplined planning than it has to do with predictive capabilities.
That's why we've put together a webinar focused on scenario planning. Jessica Mills and Trachelle Spencer, both veterans of previous multifamily downturns, will join me in sharing their first-hand experience on this webinar. We will discuss in detail the areas that management should focus on, and three different scenarios to be prepared for. As always, we'll also share specific tactics you can and should put in place as the fall plays out.
Photo by airfocus