MULTIFAMILY NEWS
- More and more RVs are rolling into Google’s backyard. With rent on the rise in Silicon Valley, many employees and locals are turning to RVs. The average rent in Mountain View (Google HQ) is $4,151 a month while the average home price is $1.8m.
- Zillow released a report last week showing the U.S. housing market is slowing down slightly from last year. It’s an interesting time as millennial home-buyers are reaching home-buying age. Scarcity and price in the housing market are among the factors contributing to a 2.6% climb in the rental market (on an annual basis).
- Tech firm, Zego makes life easier for property managers using AI. The app allows apartment residents to pay rent, chat with their property manager, submit work orders, open doors and more. Zego was recently acquired by PayLease.
- Two asset classes are becoming one. Well, kind of. The multifamily industry is taking a page from the hospitality industry by incorporating more amenities and services into properties. As mentioned above, more millennials are renting than buying and are also showing a strong desire to live in metropolitan areas. Gidi Cohen, founder and CEO of CGI strategies told GlobeSt.com, “this amenity trend is so widespread that a high ratio of renters will only consider living in a community that boasts many social amenities. Vertical neighborhoods tend to rent first and see less turnover than traditional multifamily apartments.”
NATIONAL NEWS
- Safety First. Amazon is building a 500K SF distribution center in Mississippi. This center will specifically handle and ship hazardous materials. Amazon came under fire back in December when a robot carrying bear repellent ruptured and sent 12 people to the hospital. The new distribution center will open this summer.
- Retail Real Estate is dropping for the first time in years. “According to a Reonomy study provided to Bisnow; By the month of February, the 1.4 million retail-only properties in Reonomy’s database had declined in sales value almost 4% year over year.”
- Dallas Fort Worth International Aiport is getting a major face-lift. In addition to renovations, DFW is adding a sixth terminal to accommodate more people. 24 American Airlines gates are expected to open by 2025 at an estimated cost of $3 billion dollars.
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