COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE'S ECONOMIC ADVISORS

February 2026 data from the Independent Landlord Rental Performance Report show on-time rent payments rebounding to 83.7%, with late-payment pressure easing and full-payment rates reaching their strongest level since late summer 2025. While year-over-year collections remain below prior levels, the trend continues to point toward stabilization in the mom-and-pop rental market.

National multifamily rents rose 1.4% year over year in January 2026 as rent growth continued to moderate. Metro-level performance remains uneven across markets.

This week’s Rental Housing Weekly Briefing breaks down the latest real GDP data, new Census findings on single-family rental ownership, how institutional acquisition trends compare with broader ownership patterns, and the key releases to watch in the week ahead.

This week’s Rental Housing Weekly Briefing examines trends in small multifamily investment activity, emerging signals from the New York Fed’s Household Debt and Credit Report, what shifting consumer credit conditions may imply for rental housing performance, and the key data releases to watch in the week ahead.