by Doug Pike

A historic period of rent growth ended last year, subsequently followed by several months of decline that have carried into 2023. According to the April Apartment List National Rent Report, year-over-year rent growth continues to decelerate. Those headwinds pose a significant challenge to multifamily owner/operators, and their response to eroding market factors could dictate their portfolio performance for the foreseeable future.

While the typical industry reaction is to cut costs and batten down the hatches, inflation rates continue to limit the efficacy of expense reductions. Cutting staff and services can trim budgets but also impairs resident retention efforts. Operators are finding that focusing on resident renewals and identifying new revenue streams and net operating income (NOI) strategies within day-to-day operations better positions them to weather the storm.

Read Doug Pike’s article in the Rental Housing Journal.