“Survive ’till ’25” seems to be this year’s mantra for the commercial real estate industry. And this also applies to multifamily. After a difficult 2023, this year doesn’t look much better, with owners and operators looking for ways to cut expenses as much as possible. The challenges that defined last year haven’t disappeared: Finding labor is still an issue, wages continue to be sticky and inflation is hard to predict.
“Operational efficiencies will be the spotlight this year,” Paula Munger told Multi-Housing News Senior Editor Laura Calugar in the latest episode of the NAA Insights podcast series.
The National Apartment Association’s vice president of research revealed details about other issues affecting the multifamily industry, but toward the end of the conversation, Munger touched on the positive signs she sees in the economy—such as GDP growth and consumer sentiment starting to pick up.
Here’s what you’ll hear about as soon as you click the PLAY button:
- the American economy in 2023 (0:49)
- the cooling labor market (1:45)
- wage rigidity (3:17)
- interest rates and the Fed’s higher-for-longer strategy (4:07)
- inflation and consumer spending (5:41)
- other threats to economic stability in 2024 (7:21)
- demographic growth (9:12)
- multifamily construction and the impact of high deliveries on rents and occupancy (10:36)
- housing affordability (12:16)
- reasons for optimism (13:08)
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