COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE'S ECONOMIC ADVISORS

Homeownership barriers have caused the number of high-income households to surge, bust cost pressures have filtered down the income ladder

This week’s Rental Housing Weekly Briefing examines uneven multifamily rent growth across US metros alongside new Arbor-Chandan research showing persistent barriers in the renter-to-owner transition.

NYC rent growth remained well ahead of the national pace in April, with Manhattan pulling further ahead while borough-level momentum stayed uneven.

National multifamily rent growth held near 1.0% in April, while short-term momentum improved modestly. Conditions remain soft, but the latest data suggest the market is no longer broadly worsening.

This week’s Rental Housing Weekly Briefing examines renewed pressure on apartment valuations alongside continued improvement in mom-and-pop rent collections, even as late-payment pressure remains elevated.

The May 2026 Independent Landlord Rental Performance Report from Chandan Economics and RentRedi shows continued improvement in on-time rent payments across independently operated rental properties. But while full-payment outcomes remain resilient, late-payment pressure is still elevated, pointing to an uneven recovery beneath the surface.

As homeownership becomes increasingly inaccessible for many young households, a growing share of family formation is occurring in the rental market.

This week’s Rental Housing Weekly Briefing examines renewed CPI inflation pressure alongside new analysis of the New York Fed’s SCE Housing Survey, which shows moving expectations falling to new lows.

According to the New York Fed’s 2026 SCE Housing Survey, just 21.7% of Americans expect to move within the next three years. Renters remain more mobile than homeowners, but moving expectations have fallen sharply across tenure, age, income, and education groups.