Multifamily Execs Say Bailout is Vital to Occupancy Levels
Source: MULTIFAMILY EXECUTIVE News Service
Publication date: October 3, 2008
The country may still be split on the economic bailout plan, but some apartment executives—always wary of unemployment numbers—hope to see the House pass the Bush administration’s $700 billion rescue package. The Senate passed it yesterday.
Though M|PF YieldStar reports that industry-wide rental occupancy rates still remain relatively stable at approximately 94.5 percent, there is an underlying fear among many owners and managers that the levels can’t last. If the bailout doesn’t happen soon, that drop could be steeper and happen sooner than the market could bear.
“Maybe with the bailout, it’s just a mild recession,” says David Schwartz, principal of Waterton Advisors, an apartment owner and operator based in Chicago. “If it becomes worse and we see substantial loss of jobs and an economic slowdown, that benefits no one. Let’s hope the bailout goes through, and there’s only a mild recession.”
