Two surveys show that more tenants were able to pay their rent in May compared to April, likely because of federal stimulus payments.
According to a survey by CBRE agents of 47 landlords in Orange County and other cities in the southwest Los Angeles County, 94% of tenants paid full rent in mid-May, compared to 91% of tenants paying in mid-April. The surveys also revealed that 2.7% of tenants missed their May payments compared to 3.3% who made a partial payment.
“The collection rate was about 3% better. The uptick is almost 100% attributed to government incentive programs.”
Michael Cavner, Orange County CBRE agent
The results from the CBRE survey mirror a nationwide survey conducted by the National Multifamily Housing Council – covering over 11m professionally managed apartments. On 27 April 2020, 91.7% of rent was either paid in full or partially compared to 93.3% by May.
“Each week we see new evidence that Americans are prioritising rent and that the work apartment firms did to create flexible payment plans is paying dividends.”
Doug Bibby, Multifamily Council President
Moda Living recently also demonstrated the resilience of Build to Rent as an asset class in the UK, referring to their Angel Gardens scheme in Manchester, a joint venture with Apache Capital, which saw 98% of rents collected either at estimated rental values or market premiums during the coronavirus lockdown.
“We remain committed to delivering our pipeline with Moda and as consumer demand for highly serviced, amenity-rich, purpose-built rental housing grows, so will investor interest.
“Data from the US has demonstrated premium apartment block owners have seen higher rent collections than the wider market, and for institutional investors looking for defensive assets with counter-cyclical qualities that produce long-term steady income streams needed to match their liabilities, what we like to call four or five-star Build to Rent will prove increasingly attractive.”
Richard Jackson, Co-founder and Managing Director, Apache Capital Partners
