Freddie Mac Shows Upswing in Rental Market in USA

Date Published 10/20/2011
Author Marja Hoek-Smit
Theme
Country United States

Freddie Mac released its October 2011 Economic and Housing Market Outlook for the US, showing an upswing in the rental, multi-family housing sector. “With rental demand rising and apartment economics improving, the multifamily sector is a positive signal for the U.S. housing industry.” Outlook figures show the following:
    • Over the year ending mid-2011, the Census Bureau reported a net increase of 800,000 new households formed in the US, a net reduction of 600,000 home-owners, and a net increase of 1.4 million households that moved into rental housing, or a 4 percent rise in the number of tenant households in just one year.
    • The U.S. homeownership rate has fallen about 1.5 percent over the past year (from 66.9 percent to 65.9 percent during the second quarter of 2011). Owner rates fell by 4.4 percent (to 21.9 percent) for those under 25 years of age and by 7 percent (to 34.7 percent) for those aged 25 to 29 years.
    • The Census Bureau reported that vacancy rates in building with at least five dwellings had dipped to ten percent during the second quarter.
    • Apartment rents, which had been flat to falling in many projects during the 2008-2009 recession, have begun to rise, albeit slowly.
    • Multifamily lending appears to be rising as well relative to 2010, driven by low mortgage rates for multifamily lending in recent weeks and the re-entry of some traditional portfolio lenders into the multifamily market.
Link to the October 2011 U.S. Economic and Housing Market Outlook.



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