Apartmentlist.com reports that few cities remain below pre-pandemic rent levels (including Seattle) with national rents up a staggering 13.8% since January.
Rents in Portland ranked #59 among the nation's 100 largest cities. Year-over-year rent growth in Portland currently stands at 5% making July the first month that rents surpassed pre-pandemic levels.
According to the Oregon Housing and Community Services (ODHCS) website, the program "will distribute $204 million to qualified renters who have experienced financial hardship due to the coronavirus pandemic and are at risk of homelessness or housing instability."
To keep everyone updated on the status of the availability of this assistance, ODHCS has a public dashboard with the statistical information available to keep the public up-to-date on the distribution of this huge amount of rental relief.
As of Monday, August 30, 2021 here is the statewide summary:
Funding Available: $204 million
Funding approved: $29,856,593
Amount paid: $19,545,630*
Households approved for payment:: 4,614
Households paid: 4,238
*Note: The dashboard contains a caveat that due to various county reporting procedures, the actual amount distributed may be closer to the $29 million figure.
This week we discuss the latest on rental assistance distribution, the Supreme Court ruling against the eviction moratorium, and where is wave of evictions will come from.
On August 26, 2021, the United States Supreme Court struck down the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) eviction moratorium. Landlords may now enforce eviction judgments for nonpayment of rent from July 2021 onward.
Under Oregon law, deferred rent accumulated between April 2020 and June 2021 is not due until February 28, 2022. Any rent paid at this point may not be applied towards rent that was deferred under Oregon law.
In Oregon, renters are protected from eviction for non-payment of rent if they have applied for rental assistance. In Multnomah County, this safe harbor provision lasts 90 days from when the renter provides proof of application to their landlord. The safe harbor provisions last 60 days for renters outside of Multnomah County.
This week we discuss the Eviction Moratorium from a landlord perspective, OR and WA are in the top 25 markets for rent growth, and 2020 Census data is coming out and shows the effects of lack of housing production in OR and WA.
HFO is pleased to announce the sale of 12-unit Whispering Firs in Vancouver Washington. Congratulations to lead brokers Jack Stephens and Todd Tully and the rest of the HFO team!
"The multifamily sector continued to look strong in July , according to the latest report from real estate data firm Yardi Matrix. The firm’s data shows that on a national basis, multifamily asking rents grew by a record 8.3 percent year-over-year in July, to an average of $1,510 a month. On a month-to-month basis, average rents nationally went up by 1.8 percent.
"Based on trends seen so far, Yardi Matrix researchers have updated their forecast for which markets are likely to see the greatest growth in asking rents between August and the end of the year. Many of these include cities in the Southeast and the Southwest, such as Atlanta, Austin, Texas and Denver, although some traditional gateway markets also made the list.
"Here are regional picks from Yardi Matrix’ top 25 list, along with the underlying fundamentals in the area, including employment growth and new multifamily completions."
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OLYMPIA — Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has brought back a statewide mask requirement and ordered all public, private, and charter school employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccine as subject to their employment. The requirement to wear a mask begins Monday, August 23, and is required in most public places across the state, including restaurants, grocery stores, malls, and public-facing offices, regardless of vaccination status.
There will be limited exceptions when face coverings won’t be required, such as office spaces not easily accessible to the public where individuals are vaccinated, and when working alone indoors or in a vehicle with no public face-to-face interaction. Small, private, indoor gatherings where all attendees are vaccinated are also exempt. Read more in the Seattle Times.
HFO Investment Real Estate is pleased to announce the sale of the 91-unit Woodlands Apartments in Eugene, Oregon. Congratulations to HFO partners Greg Frick and Rob Marton and the rest of the HFO team!
This week: investors urged to continue lobbying in support of 1031 exchanges, how multifamily fares despite looming evictions, and a covid update for Oregon and Washington.
On August 11, the U.S. Senate approved an amendment to preserve Section 1031 in its current form. The amendment was offered by Sen. Kennedy (R-LA) as part of the budget resolution Vote-a-Rama, and it passed by unanimous voice vote. While the passage of this amendment to the FY2022 Budget Resolution to retain like-kind exchanges is very encouraging, our work is far from over. Vote-a-Rama votes are NOT binding and do not amend a bill or existing law.
It's still possible that the final budget reconciliation bill could contain limits on Section 1031 Exchanges. Remember the House will weigh in on the final bill. While it's good news that our voices are being heard, we cannot let up on our advocacy efforts!
Section 1031 will be in the line of fire when Congress turns to the budget reconciliation bill starting in September. We must continue our work nonstop to ensure that Section 1031 is preserved.
Continue to contact Congress and urge them to preserve Section 1031 in full. Your letters are making a difference.
The real estate software and data analytics company RealPage reported that asking rents rose 2.2% from June to July and 8.3% year-over-year, blowing past records set 2000-2001. One factor driving rent growth is record occupancy levels. The U.S. occupancy rate was 96.9% in July, surpassing the previous record of 96.5% set in 2000. Read more.
This week: the CDC extends the national eviction moratorium until October 3, lumber prices soar in Washington State, and Oregon finally expands zoning for multifamily housing.
Social service workers at state housing officials rattled off a list of complaints about the State of Oregon's latest software - this one to distribute $204 million in rental assistance. According to The Oregonian, the state of Oregon paid nearly $400,000 to Allita 360 for the system, but the huge volume of applications and the software's glitches have led to an alarming backlog. Read more.
This feature story on the transformation of downtown Salem, Oregon appeared in The Oregonian and was written by Saphara Harrell and RAchel Alexander of the Salem Reporter. Read more.
In their summer report entitled "Multifamily Emerges Strong from the Pandemic" Yardi-Matrix says while rent growth experienced in 2021 can't continue indefinitely, conditions for growth, rents may increase by almost double digits in many markets on a year-over-year basis. The cities of Phoenix, Las Vegas, Atlanta, and Tampa are experiencing significant rent growth due to in-migration while longtime residents are most impacted by the accelerating rent growth. Read more.
The report indicates rent growth for Portland metro for June year-over-year is 7.8% and Seattle is 0.9%. A prior report forecast rent growth for 2021 year-end at 5.2% for Portland and 1.9% for Seattle.
The CDC Eviction Moratorium extension to October 3rd covers renters in areas with "substantial" and "high" levels of COVID cases. Find your county here.
The order covers ALL OF OREGON except Lake County in Southeastern Oregon.
The order covers ALL OF WASHINGTON except Okanogan, Whitman, and Garfield.
Meanwhile, the Multifamily Housing Association of Washington released the following statement:
The moratorium prevents taking any action to pursue an eviction for nonpayment of rent, where a tenant identifies themselves as a “covered person.” The moratorium does not apply to evictions resulting from another basis for termination under Washington’s just cause laws. Moratoria in Seattle, Kenmore, Burien, and Kirkland supersede the CDC moratorium and these local moratoria apply to properties beyond the CDC moratoria.
A “covered person” means a tenant who provides a declaration, signed under the penalty of perjury that:
The declaration can be provided by the tenant in a standard declaration for or in any written manner, but must be signed under penalty of perjury.
Third, the requirements of Washington’s Bridge Proclamation remain in full force and effect. Any property seeking to proceed to a court hearing because of nonpayment of rent, must comply with the state’s Bridge moratorium, and the CDC Moratorium (if applicable).
Practically speaking, this is yet another hoop to jump through to address prior to proceeding to the action of last resort, eviction, and frustrates the already intensive and complicated processes established in the State of Washington.
Get vaccinated. Mask up. So we don’t need to go backwards!
Read more about where renters and landlords can apply for assistance in Washington here.
"The $4 trillion in economic relief provided by the federal government, including expanded unemployment benefits, stimulus payments and support for American businesses has stabilized the economy and allowed much of the country to resume normal economic activity. And where the recovery has been slower and for those renters who continue to face financial struggles, the industry continues to work with residents through payment plans, deferred payments or other solutions."At the onset of the pandemic, NMHC urged Congress to create a federal rental assistance program. Congress finally heard our calls and late last year enacted the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP). Seven months after states received the first tranche of $25 billion of the nearly $46 billion appropriated, only $3 billion has been distributed as of June 30 according to Treasury data."It is unacceptable that some localities continue to delay the distribution of benefits, and it is unacceptable to continue to ask housing providers to carry the financial burden of this pandemic."For nearly 18 months, apartment firms have stepped up to help their residents facing financial struggles through payment plans, deferred payments or other solutions. They continue to do so now, redirecting staff, and hiring new staff, to reach out to residents and to help them apply for assistance."NMHC remains committed to ensuring residents remain stably housed. It is time for Congress, the Administration and the states to remove red tape and expedite the distribution of emergency rental assistance. Resources for renters are available here and housing providers here."
Multnomah County's updated property ratios for calculating new construction for the 2021/2022 tax year are now available. The CPRs are trending up in both the county (by +2.0%) and the east side cities of Fairview, Gresham, Troutdale, and Wood Village. Those cities have separate, much higher CPR rates due to the amount of new construction. The eastside cities requested separate CPR assessments. The result is that older property taxes will be much lower. Read data.
This week: Single-family homebuilders try out the rental sector; economists forecast improving conditions ahead, and is owning commercial real estate a hedge against inflation?
Democratic leaders and the White House sought an extension of the eviction moratorium until the end of 2021. In the end, their efforts proved unsuccessful and despite the allocation of $47 billion to assist renters, states' laggy distribution mechanisms have only contributed to the crisis. Read more.
The Sightline Institute completed a study of legalized inexpensive housing. On Sunday, August 1, they released this article on the findings. Their crunching of the numbers revealed four types of housing that most likely won't be built because it's too expensive (for now) along with three types that could start adding new housing very soon.
First, the three types are the most likely to be built right away: