Industry News | Week of October 21

HOT & RELEVANT TOPICS

10 Things About Drone Deliveries to Apartments

Drone deliveries are no longer a whimsical concept for apartment communities. In fact, apartment communities could start seeing this happen as soon as 2020 as several logistical obstacles have been cleared and companies are starting to ramp up their air-based commercial delivery efforts. While many envision pizza and other perishable goods landing on their balconies, medical deliveries are taking early precedent. UPS is spearheading the early race as it was awarded first full certification, but Google and Amazon aren’t far behind. Read Paul R. Bergeron’s article in UNITS Magazine.

Apartments: The Low-Impact Green Investment

Apartment residents leave a smaller carbon footprint than those in single-family homes. Energy and water usage are much less and apartment residents typically make more efficient use of city infrastructure. In addition, fewer materials are needed to construct the home and apartment residents often don’t waste energy by heating/cooling extra rooms or storage spaces. Apartments have the basic building blocks to be top sustainability performers, and even non-certified communities can expound the efforts with green cleaning supplies, low-VOC paints and indoor air-quality standards. Read Erin Hatcher’s article in Multi-Housing News.

Recession Obsession Overshadows Multifamily Housing’s Strength

According to virtually every economy-related source, a recession of some sort is on the horizon. That is causing some in the multifamily industry to adopt a bleak outlook, but that shouldn’t be the case, according to Ryan Davis, director of research and client services for Witten Advisors. Davis believes the apartment world won’t experience a steep downturn during a recession because vacancy rates are well below the norm, no extensive overhang in supply exists and the industry continues to experience strong demographic support. Read Ryan Davis’ article in UNITS Magazine.

IN THE NEWS

Facebook to Spend $1 Billion on CA’s Affordable Housing Crisis

After being part of the problem for several years, Facebook has pledged $1 billion and a partnership with the state of California to help build more affordable housing. The tech giant unwittingly helped exacerbate the housing crisis in the Bay Area for about a decade by bringing in tens of thousands of highly paid technology workers. Facebook’s pledge is nearly identical to the one Google implemented in June to help fix the housing crisis it assisted to create. Over the summer, average one-bedroom rates in San Francisco reached $3,720 while the median price for a single-family home reached $1.7 million. Read Nick Statt’s article on The Verge.

The Most Affordable College Towns for Renters in the U.S.

For college renters who want a one-bedroom home, Morgantown, W.Va. is the place to be. Average one-bedroom student housing rate is $522.33 in the town that surrounds West Virginia University. On the other end of the extreme is Berkeley, Calif., where the average one-bedroom student home goes for $2,918. College renters often team up, of course, and the most affordable three-bedroom locale belongs to Iowa City ($723, or $241 per person). That’s in contrast to Los Angeles’ average rate of $6,834 for a three-bedroom student apartment. Read Mary Salmonsen’s article in Multifamily Executive.

More Claim the “American Dream” Involves Renting

The white picket fence is being factored out of the American Dream – unless that fence surrounds rental units. A recent survey by Zumper indicates that 32 percent of people believe the American Dream includes homeownership, and 20 percent of respondents indicated they didn’t plan to purchase a home in their lifetime. A study from Freedom Debt Relief seemed to support the idea, with only 59 percent of homeowners believing that the American Dream still includes a home (meaning 41 percent believe otherwise). Read Julia Falcon’s article in Housingwire.