here to discuss is Meg Epstein,
founder and Ceo of real estate development and investment firm C.
A. South. Welcome to the show.
Talk to us about the trends you're seeing in the rental market,
especially in those major cities in the country.
Sure,
we're seeing developers having to build more luxury product
and um there being a flight to quality.
So a lot more amenities too because the cost of building is so high,
so that's where you're getting um a lot of increased
rent because it's costing developers a lot more to build.
Um you see a lot more hospitality type services in apartments.
Um That's a that's a pretty strong trend.
Also, single family for rent,
housing is a big market and a new asset class
that a lot of institutions have started investing in.
So people are pushing more not just for apartments but also for homes for rent.
Like what are the effects of these rental bidding wars on tenants?
Is this a common practice when interest rates rise? Have we seen it before?
And of course
inventory shrinks?
Yes, we have seen it before,
I think we're still dealing with an inventory problem
from the last recession that we had in 2008.
Um and so I think it will be continue to be
even worse now as interest rates have increased so quickly,
faster than they ever have.
Um and all that is, is going to make homeownership less
affordable for people and making
rents increase and you're getting these bidding wars again,
I want to talk about what's happening here in new york the city or the state gave the
green light to allow landlords to hike prices on
more than a million highly coveted rent stabilized apartments?
How are non corporate owners impacted by
these rent stabilized apartments or of course
the slow climbing rental prices that we're seeing across the board?
I cannot speak to to new york as much because I I only build in south eastern markets.
I'm originally from California,
but I've chosen to focus on the southeast because of um you know,
the more accessibility and affordability here,
what advice do you have for those looking to move into a new city and a major market?
I think that it's going to take planning ahead a bit more than you
typically would if you were planning to move in a month or so,
you should plan for 3-4 months.
Um another recommendation would be to go to new developments that are
underway and get on the waitlist because a lot of times,
uh developers will be willing to give incentives for
renters if they're willing to sign up early.
Um, So, you know, a larger development that you see in your neighborhood,
you can get on the waitlist for that and then also considers
moving more towards the suburbs with more homes being offered for rent.
There's big companies like Blackstone that have invested a lot
in renting out houses and more of the suburbs and with
work being a lot more easy to be remote in the flexible workplace,
I would recommend um maybe not, you know,
choosing to live out of the urban core during this time
meg,
what's your outlook on the rental market as affordability is obviously shifting.
I think that we're not going to be seeing it go down. It's hard to,
it's hard to comment on the entire nation, but I think in most
cities we will see it stabilized,
but I don't see it going down anywhere or even increase in areas where
there's high demand like new york and Nashville and um these hot hot markets.
But I don't see it going down anytime in the next several years.
Maggie Epstein, founder and Ceo of C. A South. Always appreciate your time.
Thank you so much.