COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE'S ECONOMIC ADVISORS

August’s stronger-than-expected job gains, on top of the June and July revisions, give hawks additional fodder for the September meeting.

This week’s Rental Housing Weekly Briefing examines the latest Chandan Economics–RentRedi data showing continued stabilization in mom-and-pop rent collections, with on-time payments improving in August and year-over-year performance strengthening, alongside new Trepp analysis showing that multifamily expense growth cooled in 2025 even as revenue and NOI growth also slowed.

The August 2026 Independent Landlord Rental Performance Report from Chandan Economics and RentRedi shows further signs of stabilization across independently operated rental properties. On-time payments improved to 83.2%, year-over-year performance strengthened materially, and multifamily properties drove much of the monthly rebound.

This week’s Rental Housing Weekly Briefing examines Chandan Economics’ latest Multifamily Rent Growth Update, where annual and short-term rent growth both accelerated in July and a larger share of US metro areas recorded rising rents, alongside new Census data showing that multifamily housing starts remained volatile even as the underlying development trend held relatively firm.

US multifamily rent growth accelerated again in July, with annual growth reaching 1.8%, monthly annualized growth rising to 4.0%, and market breadth improving further.

This week’s Rental Housing Weekly Briefing examines Yardi Matrix’s latest supply forecast, which projects multifamily completions falling to a 2027 low before stabilizing, alongside the Q3 2026 Arbor–Chandan Small Multifamily Investment Trends Report, where lending remains healthy even as narrow yield spreads continue to constrain pricing.

Despite CPI registering in line with expectations, futures market forecasts for the Fed's September interest rate decision moved meaningfully following the release.

This week’s Rental Housing Weekly Briefing examines the Fed’s latest Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey, which shows multifamily underwriting standards continuing to normalize even as borrower demand remains soft, alongside Yardi Matrix data showing modest national rent growth and improving short-term momentum across several previously weak apartment markets.

US employers shed 23,000 jobs in July, missing consensus forecasts of a gain of 80,000 to 95,000 and the first monthly job loss since October 2025.