Julie Smith, President, Bozzuto Management Company, Greenbelt, Md.
“Given current home prices and mortgage interest rates, there has never been a better time to move out of an apartment and buy a home, but we’re not seeing our residents doing it. People are choosing to leave their options open, and they don’t want to be tied down with a big, long-term mortgage. Some are waiting to see if home prices will fall even more. Others are waiting to find that ‘dream job’ in, for example, Southern California, and want the flexibility to move there easily.”
Daniel Ford, Sr. VP, Property Management, Freeman Webb, Nashville
“We find that the group of residents we are serving more multicultural. We recently wrote an addendum to our lease and our property managers asked that we send it to them in seven different languages—and that’s in Tennessee markets.
“We also see the added importance of customer service because some of our communities have 70 residents who are all extended family. So, if you don’t treat one member well, you might lose all 70.”
Tom Toomey, CEO, UDR, Highlands Ranch, Colo.
“Despite the political unrest in our nation’s capital, our industry is poised for continued growth for the foreseeable future. The fundamentals that drive our business remain strong and I don’t see many threats on the horizon that will reverse this trend. The creation of additional jobs is a net positive not only for our industry, but the country as a whole. As more people rejoin the workforce the demand for our product will continue to increase.”
Terry Danner, President, Riverstone Residential Group, Dallas
“We’re using CFLs in our common areas and finding that they don’t last as long as advertised. Part of the economic decision to utilize them was the belief that they’d help cut maintenance staff work time, and, while still a good decision, we’re replacing them more often than we thought.”
Erin Ditto, Sr. VP of Multifamily Operations, Bell Partners, Greensboro, N.C.
“Our rate of move-outs due to the resident buying a home is about 10 percent to 12 percent, which is much better than the 25 percent we had been seeing a few years ago.
“Our renters are staying partly due to fear of what can happen when you purchase a home. They are reading about increased foreclosures and it seems these days we all know of at least one person who has gone through this. We have seen a rise in renters moving out to rent homes. It’s at 5 percent, whereas in the past, the percentage doing so was immaterial.”
Mark Zandi, Chief Economist, Moody’s Analytics
“The multifamily housing industry is in great shape for growth in the next three to four years because of the expected increase in household formations, based on the expected improvement in the economy in that time. In the past year, there were 500,000 to 750,000 households formed and occupancy rates improved. Typically, during a ‘normal’ healthy economic environment, 1.2 million to 1.25 million households are formed.
“The outlook over the next 10 years is solid because of demographics. Growth in the cohort of those aged in their 20s and 30s was flat during the 1990s and increased by a couple of million from 2000 to 2009. From 2010 to 2020, it is expected to grow by 6 million to 7 million.”
Source: MFE Conference, Oct. 3-4, Las Vegas