The COVID-19 crisis has prompted substantial changes to leasing activity, operations and renter behavior within the U.S. multifamily market, according to a new report from MRI Software, a global leader in real estate software solutions.
The report, which compares data from more than 1 million active units (a subset of the total units managed by MRI clients) in February–April 2020 and February–April 2019, illuminates significant effects of the crisis, such as reductions in demand and pricing, and a rise in concessions.
Key findings include:
Less demand, less turnover: A 4 percent increase in renewals and a 15 percent reduction in vacancy rates between March 15 and April 31, 2020, compared with the same period in 2019. Furthermore, new rental applications decreased 29 percent from March 22 to April 19, 2020, before improving, but they remained 11 percent below prior-year levels at the end of April.
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