Here is your monthly “Gladstone Gazette” update – a quick summary of what I’m working on, learning about, and interested by in the world of real estate.

• A Yardi Matrix study of 17 million apartment units concluded that rents came down in expensive cities, and stayed flat / grew in more affordable cities. NYC, San Jose, and SF led the pack with rent declines in August (4-6% down), while Columbus and Sacramento led on growth (2% up). Despite softening rents, Boston Capital had no problem holding a $133M first close of its second multifamily fund.
• According to Redfin, home prices hit a new record, reaching a national median of $320,625. In MA, I wanted to dig in to see how the growth looks in Single Family Homes vs. Condos. Based on year-to-date MLS data, median SFR sales price is up 9.4% vs. Oct. YTD 2019, while condo median sales price is up 6.3%. In Suffolk County (Greater Boston), the median condo sales price is up 2.4%.
• As the MA eviction moratorium expires the week of the 19th, a 171m rental assistance plan will be put to the test. The Federal eviction moratorium is still in affect, so we will see how smoothly the rollout of this program goes and what the impact will be on tenants and landlords.

• We made another sale this month, a duplex we renovated and rented over the past two years. This was a really smooth transaction – not always the case when selling a tenanted building. The buyer wanted to live in the top floor unit and keep the existing tenant in the 1st floor unit. We worked with the upstairs tenant to find a new apartment, and he left with no pushback or hard feelings.
• Spencer ave (Chelsea) with OnPoint is gearing up for our first open-house this weekend!

What I’m..

Listening to:  Why are Cities (Still) so Expensive from Freakonomics, featuring an insightful interview with San Francisco Mayor London Breed (who grew up in public housing).

Following: The Suffolk Downs redevelopment project. After three years of community engagement and over 450 community / stakeholder meetings… HYM development made it through a “marathon” 6 hour meeting to secure BPDA approval. I’ve been to several of the community meetings for this project, and am wildly impressed by how patiently and thoughtfully Tom O’Brien and the HYM team have incorporated community feedback into the project scope.

Thanks for reading and please give me feedback by responding to this e-mail. What do you want more or less of? Let me know!

Cheers,
James

P.S. if someone forwarded this email to you, you can subscribe here to get on our mailing list.

• National rent collection tracked by the NMHC through September 13th came in at 86.2%. This is essentially flat from 86.9% last month (August 2020) and down from 88.7% last year (September 2019).
• While rent collection has maintained steady, concessions are on the rise.  The most common perk is free rent (91% of all concessions), and the median duration is six-weeks. This was happening pre-COVID in expensive markets / luxury buildings.
• Even as state and city imposed eviction bans start to expire, the White House and CDC implemented a national eviction ban for renters earning less than 100k / year.
• Home prices are still soaring, despite a 9% increase in new listings. The increases are most notable in ‘relatively affordable’ cities like San Antonio and Baltimore.

• We made our first sale this year, taking advantage of the hot market for single family homes. This was a single family rental in Revere purchased in Dec. 2018. The real headache was working with the tenant to find a new apartment. We worked closely with her and the RAFT office to help her fund back rent, and with another local organization to help her with move in costs for her next apartment.
• Spencer ave (Chelsea) with OnPoint is coming together. The mechanical connections were more challenging than expected, but the plaster and paint crews are starting soon and the building is coming out great! See some exterior progress shots at the bottom of the email.
• Saratoga St (East Boston) also with OnPoint is weather tight and rough mechanicals are in progress. The framing contractor put together a great highlight video of the progress so far.

What I’m..

Listening to: The Real Estate Addicts podcast featuring Max and Garrett from OnPoint.  I’ve loved working with these guys for the past few years, and was great to hear the RE Addict guys facilitate their story.

Using: Tiller Money. It’s Mint.com but all in spreadsheets and with no ads. This probably isn’t for everyone… but if you want more flexibility and control over how you organize and track your personal finances, there’s nothing else like it.

Up to: A nomadic month. A family acquaintance had a three-week gap in between selling their house and buying a new house in our town and mentioned looking for a house to rent. We met and chatted with them and, on a whim, rented them our house out for the month. We bummed around from camping trips in NH, weekend rentals in VT, and parents houses during the week when not on vacation. What kind of complete lunatics spends a year rehabbing their house only to rent it out as soon as it’s finished? Us.

Thanks for reading and please give me feedback by responding to this e-mail. What do you want more or less of? Let me know!

Cheers,
James

P.S. if someone forwarded this email to you, you can subscribe here to get on our mailing list.