On January 18th, 2019, I published an article on my blog entitled “Why I Am Confident Multifamily Will Thrive During and After the Next Economic Recession.”
In summary, historically, homeownership rates decrease during economic recessions and increase during economic expansions.
During the post-2008 economic expansion, the Dow Jones tripled, unemployment was cut in half, and the GDP rose by nearly $5 trillion. At the same time, the renter population increased nearly every single year and grew by more than 25%.
The reasons why more people decided to rent than own during the most recent economic expansion include high student debt, poor credit, tighter lending criteria, people starting families later, and inability to afford home payments.
Since these reasons aren’t going away, I predicted that when the next economic recession occurs, the same percentage of people or more will rent. And when the economy begins to improve, the same percentage of people or more will rent.
Flash forward over one-and-a-half years and many experts believe we have entered the next economic recession, due in part to the coronavirus pandemic.
So what are people saying about the demand for multifamily rentals?
A study released by apartment properties acquisition and management company, Middleburg Communities, projects a drop in homeownership rates and a significant increase in demand for rental housing over the next five years.
Here is an excerpt from a GlobeSt.com article published on June 17, 2020 entitled “As Homeownership Declines, Demand for Rental Housing to Climb.”
“The June 11 report projects a decline in U.S. homeownership to 62.1%, the lowest rate in more than 20 years, before a partial recovery to 63.6% in 2025. Depending on the effects of the recession, the demand for rental housing will increase somewhere between 33% and 49% over that time period, the report concludes.
The analysis points to changing demographics playing a role in the changing demands. Married households are more likely to own homes, and their numbers are declining. The numbers of households with incomes of more than $120,000 is expected to drop while those with incomes of less than $30,000 are projected to increase.
“We do not claim to know the precise trajectory that household incomes will take over the next five years,” the report said. “However, with 19 million jobs lost as of this writing, the direction of household incomes in the near future is clearly negative.”
The number of non-white householders, who typically rent at a higher rate, is also growing.
But demographics alone are a “weak” explanation for homeownership shifts, according to the report. Student loan debt, inability to make a down payment, tightened lending standards, high rents and a shift in preferences play a role, too.
The report also zeroed in on three variables that offer a “reasonable” explanation for slumping homeownership: “lending standards, as measured by the average credit scores of mortgages, median net worth by age of householder, and the previous year’s deviation from the demographic-based projection, essentially inertia.”
The report notes that additional stimulus packages from the federal government could bolster homeownership rates.”
(Emphasis Added)
Like I said over one-and-a-half years ago, homeownership decreased during the economic expansion due to people starting families later, student loan debt, inability to make a down payment, and tighter lending standards.
Therefore, this study reinforces my thoughts on multifamily investing – there will be the same or increased demand for rentals during and after the current economic recession.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this blog post are provided for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as an offer to buy or sell any securities or to make or consider any investment or course of action.