“A lot of the reason for that was due to eviction moratoriums that were occurring in the US, coupled with the fact that a lot of the multifamily sector is built on workforce housing, and during the shutdown people were out of jobs. Without income, it prevented their ability to pay rent, which means the multifamily product overall really struggled.”
Fast forward to today and the panorama has drastically changed, with people back at work and gradually returning to cities and urban areas. But with high house prices the demand for rental properties will inevitably increase, Parker predicted.
“Home price increases make it a barrier of entry for people – they still need a home to live in, but they can’t afford to buy because prices are so high,” he said.
“People are looking for places to rent until they finally see home prices fall to the level that they can afford. And that’s why multifamily properties have seen such a resurgence over the last few months.”
Rent prices increased by 9.2% at the beginning of the year, according to rental website Apartment List, while the national median rent has increased by 11.4% – up by roughly 8.1% compared to what it was before the pandemic.