Digging for Data

Here at LinnellTaylor Marketing, we keep close tabs on statistics about both the national and individual metro apartment markets.

This information serves a couple of purposes. First, in a general sense, it’s critical that we’re on top of market trends in the industry – occupancy rates, rent growth, investor sentiment, etc. – so that we can fully understand the waters our clients are navigating.

Second, these data points serve as powerful enhancements to the content we produce for our clients. When you can support an argument or better explain an issue through the use of statistics, your content is all the more compelling to the reader.

The good news is that, if you’re looking to stay well informed on the state of the market, there is no shortage of respected sources to consult. While by no means an exhaustive list, below are some of the sources of market data and statistics that we find valuable.

• NMHC’s Quarterly Survey of Market Conditions. This survey of NMHC members provides a quick but comprehensive snapshot of the direction in which the apartment market is headed.

Those surveyed are asked to compare current market conditions to those that existed three months earlier. The survey consists of four indexes – Market Tightness, Sales Volume, Equity Financing and Debt Financing. An index score above 50 means conditions have improved when compared with the previous quarter, while a score below 50 means conditions compare unfavorably.

• Marcus & Millichap. This commercial real estate brokerage and research firm issues a boatload of apartment market reports each year. Between them, they cover the national market and virtually every sizeable metro area. So you if you want to learn more about occupancy trends in Jacksonville, Fla., or rent growth in Richmond, Va., you’re bound to find it here.

• Trade magazines. These publications can create and publish valuable exclusive research. Case in point: National Real Estate Investor’s annual survey of the outlook and attitudes of multifamily investors. (By the way, the most recent edition of the survey – which was just released in August – notes that investor optimism about the apartment sector remains high. In fact, according to the report, investors remain more bullish about multifamily than any other commercial property type.)

Another case in point: the National Apartment Association’s units Magazine just released the NAA’s survey of operating income and expenses in apartment communities.

So that’s a (very) quick summary of some of the data outlets we keep close tabs on. What are the sources you turn to?