New in CRE: Self guided tours, wage inflation, and more

UDR 2Q21 Soundbites – 7/29/21 “Sequentially the greatest rate of change in operating fundamentals has been in San Fran, NYC, and Seattle. That said, we’re seeing double-digit rent growth in Baltimore, Richmond, and Tampa.”

“97% of our tours are self-guided. That tells you people want the self-guided tours, they want that self-service, and it's something that's not going away.”

“In markets like Tampa demand is so good that people are signing without coming to the property. Our closing ratios are off the charts. People are locking them in quicker.”

“There's significant wage inflation taking place out there. UDR markets are 5-6% +/- above pre-COVID levels at this juncture.”

“Hiring in Denver is becoming challenging from a recruiting and wage standpoint, with wage inflation we haven’t seen in 25 years, which translates to rapid rent pricing power.”

“Demand for short-term furnished rentals is back to 2019 levels, and we expect our common area rentals to return to 75% of 2019 levels during 3Q21.”

“Permit activity in UDR markets is still down 10% from the peak in late 2019. Looking to 2022, overall we expect permitting to be flat to down 10%.”

“On supply, we feel better about Boston, Dallas, Tampa, Orlando, Denver, and NorCal. NYC is concerning given long construction and delivery lead times. Nashville and DC look steady.”

“We're currently at $310M in capital committed to DCP. We expect to add another $100-150M over the next year.”