Source:


Deaton Investment Real Estate & The Wake County Apartment Association



Thursday, January 29, 2009

An update from Harvard

Some really smart people have issed a new policy paper to encourage our elected officials to recognize and understand the differences between single-family and multifamily financing. Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies and the National Multi Housing Council cite a need to keep multihousing financing affordable so that landlords can meet the needs of gorwing demand for rentals during the economic downturn. If our policy makers fail to prepare for this, financing for multifamily properties could get even harder than it is today. This is something to keep an eye on as regulators make decisions that affect Fannie, Freddie and FHA loan portfolios.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

A little humble pie

While the Triangle continues to fare far better than many cities across the country, I would encourage every landlord to be creative in your methods of keeping renters. In other metro areas the shift has taken place to a renters market. The article has a few ideas, but remember it's easier and typically cheaper to keep a good tenant than to find a new one.

Friday, January 9, 2009

Not the Lucky number: 7.2%

Employment data was released today, Friday, January 9, 2009. Most people probably are not surprised to hear that unemployment continued to rise through the end of 2008. However, a national unemployment rate at 7.2% represents the highest it has been in 16 years. The unemployment rate in the Triangle is still in the low 6% range, but nonetheless it's higher than just a few months ago. That said, we hear vacancies are starting to increase, prompting owners to lower rents. If you are sitting on a vacancy now is probably not the time to be greedy.