USA Today reports that MPF Research predicts apartment rents will rise 4.3 percent this year and vacancy rates fall 1.8 percent to a 6.2 percent (and since rents are a major component of the Consumer Price Index, inflation and ultimately interest rates are on the… Read more

New Home Construction Plunges in February -Realtor.org Total residential building permits are now the lowest they have been in more than three decades which points to limited new home sales in 2011 regardless of market conditions.  At an annualized new home sale rate of 479,000… Read more

Again Proving the Relationship Between Supply and Demand The New Costs of Renting- smartmoney.com As more people pursue being a renter than a homeowner, the supply and demand ramifications are translating to escalating rents and other fees in an improving multifamily economic landscape.  A Smart… Read more

In a very simple and concise study, Trulia compared the median list price for two-bedroom apartments, condos and townhouses to the median rental rate (annualized by multiplying by 12).  Since these are actual market terms, this easy methodology gives an excellent apples-to-apples comparison.   Why… Read more

Two interesting articles from Realtor.org   Where Foreign Investors Want to Buy Real Estate   Tables Turn in 2011 on Rent vs. Own- Not one of these cities is doing really well economically speaking.  

• Some commercial property values down almost 50 percent from the peak • Apartment cap rates heading astonishingly low • Industrial properties getting drawn-out recovery • Lending and loan availability for hotels is extremely challenging • Retail recovery is direct function of resource quality “Emerging… Read more

Another Top 10 City List (But this time twofers) Top 10 Cities Where Buying, Renting Pay Off- realtor.org

New Twist — Converting Foreclosed, Investor-Owned Single Housing into Government Assisted Section 8 Housing Rentals Including Some Up-Scale Properties The avalanche of investor-owned housing being created by record foreclosures, as reported in this Wall Street Journal article, presents a challenge to the owners in how… Read more

An article from the Mortgage Bankers Association finds some less than rosy expectations for commercial real estate in 2010. Approximately three of every four commercial experts surveyed expect the following in 2010: Rents to decline Interest rates to rise 60 percent expect a full market… Read more