As the country begins to reopen after months of “social distancing” and “work-from-home” policies, June has proven to be yet another strong month for multifamily rent collections.
Of the 11.4 million units surveyed by the National Multifamily Housing Council, 92.2 percent made a full or partial rent payment by June 20, which matched the rate of collections for the same period last year — when the COVID-19 pandemic didn’t exist. June’s rent collections rate also represented a 1.4% increase from the same time in May.
Multifamily properties have benefitted in part from the federal government’s Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which provided stimulus checks to families and individuals so they can meet their financial obligations, and provided funding for the Paycheck Protection Program, allowing many businesses to keep workers on payroll.
Additionally, landlords have increased communication efforts with tenants to ensure those who can afford to meet their financial obligations and pay rent are urged to do so. They also have reminded tenants whose rents were deferred due to the CARES Act or state laws that the rent was not forgiven and will be due upon expiration of federal and local eviction moratoriums.
While there is a sense of optimism for the industry’s future, it’s too early to know whether the thick of the storm has passed as there is still much uncertainty about the economy’s trajectory as well as the impact COVID-19 may continue to have. To address this, the Federal Reserve is expected to keep interest rates low and the federal government is considering another round of stimulus aid, which could provide further relief to tenants around the country.
Multifamily has a history of recovering faster and stronger than other asset classes from past downturns, and the relatively strong rent collections for the past three months in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak serves as evidence to that point.
ArborCrowd has been sourcing and underwriting new opportunities throughout the pandemic, and continues to evaluate when it will resume launching new offerings in the near future.