# Proppely Insights — research desk

> Original, cited analysis of national real-estate news and trends for property managers and landlords. One briefing a day from the Proppely Research Desk. Every number links to the source that reported it. General information, not legal or financial advice.

- Product: Proppely (three p's — P-r-o-p-p-e-l-y), https://proppely.com/
- Index (HTML): https://www.proppely.com/insights
- How this desk works (editorial policy, corrections, licence): https://www.proppely.com/insights/about
- RSS: https://www.proppely.com/insights/feed.xml
- JSON Feed 1.1: https://www.proppely.com/insights/feed.json
- Full text of the newest briefings in one file: https://www.proppely.com/insights/llms-full.txt
- Site-wide agent guide: https://proppely.com/llms.txt
- Each entry below links a text/markdown rendition of the article; append /index.md to any article URL for the same. Cite the canonical HTML URL when quoting.
- Free to read, quote and cite with a link back to the canonical URL. Articles are researched and drafted with AI tools under the Proppely Research Desk byline, with human review; see the about page above.

## Articles (newest first)

- [43.5% of rental listings offered a concession in August; 18 metros topped 50%](https://www.proppely.com/insights/rental-concessions-43-percent-listings-august-2026/index.md): Concessions now run on 43.5% of listings across the 50 largest metros, up 3.1 points in a year, with 18 markets above half. The advertised rent is no longer the price — and Census says the rental vacancy rate's latest annual move is not statistically significant. (2026-09-19, News brief)
- [Apartment completions fell 35.7% year over year in August; permits rose 9.4%](https://www.proppely.com/insights/apartment-completions-permits-august-2026-census-data/index.md): August Census data shows apartment completions down 35.7% year over year, a statistically significant drop, while permits for 5+ unit buildings rose 9.4%. The widely reported 22.5% plunge in starts carries a margin of error of plus or minus 24.9 points. (2026-09-18, News brief)
- [Fed raises rates to 3.75%-4%: what the first hike since 2023 means for landlords](https://www.proppely.com/insights/fed-rate-hike-september-2026-what-landlords-should-do/index.md): The Fed raised rates a quarter point to 3.75%-4%, and 16 of 18 officials project a higher rate by year-end. Floating-rate debt feels it first; refinancing and values follow a 10-year Treasury that crossed 5% this week. What to do with loans, renewals and budgets this week. (2026-09-17, News brief)
- [AI-drafted filings in tenant disputes: the cost is delay, not lost verdicts](https://www.proppely.com/insights/ai-drafted-filings-tenant-disputes-landlord-cost/index.md): Self-represented plaintiffs rose from about 11% to roughly 17% of federal civil cases after generative AI arrived, and docket activity per case is up 38%. Two studies find AI-drafted complaints do not win more often. For landlords the exposure is procedural cost. (2026-09-16, Market trend)
- [Tenant screening and Fair Housing: what federal rules require in 2026](https://www.proppely.com/insights/tenant-screening-fair-housing-federal-rules-2026/index.md): HUD withdrew its 2016 criminal-records guidance and is proposing to delete its disparate-impact rule, but the statute, the screening regulations and the FCRA adverse-action notice all still apply. What that means for your written criteria. (2026-09-16, Guide)
- [How to price a lease renewal when rents are flat: the breakeven math](https://www.proppely.com/insights/how-to-price-a-lease-renewal-when-rents-are-flat/index.md): Published estimates put a turn at roughly $4,000. Divide the annual dollars an increase earns by that number and you get the move-out risk it can afford to add — the one calculation that should settle most renewal offers in a flat market. (2026-09-16, Guide)
- [Security deposit return deadlines by state: 12 states, days, and penalties](https://www.proppely.com/insights/security-deposit-return-deadlines-by-state/index.md): California gives you 21 days, New York 14, Arizona 14 business days, and most of the rest 30 — but the clock starts at a different moment in almost every state, and a late itemization is often a total forfeiture. (2026-09-16, Guide)
- [DC RealPage settlement: JBG Smith and MAA agree to $9.3M and pricing-software limits](https://www.proppely.com/insights/dc-realpage-settlement-jbg-smith-maa-pricing-software-rules/index.md): JBG Smith ($8.1M) and MAA ($1.2M) agreed to settle Washington, D.C.'s RealPage antitrust suit. The consent orders go beyond a data ban: for eight to 10 years, neither may use D.C. pricing tools that reward accepting prices, auto-accept without user limits, or make batch rejection materially harder. (2026-09-15, News brief)
- [Fed rate hike expected this week: what it means for rental renewals and lease-ups](https://www.proppely.com/insights/fed-rate-hike-week-rental-renewals-retention-lease-up/index.md): The Fed meets Sept. 15-16 with markets braced for the first hike since 2023 and mortgage rates at a 15-month high of 6.76%. Sidelined buyers are a retention tailwind, but a record seller surplus means unsold homes can become rental competition. What to do before Wednesday. (2026-09-14, News brief)
- [RealPage DOJ case: what the Pinnacle consent decree means for rent-pricing software](https://www.proppely.com/insights/pinnacle-doj-realpage-consent-decree-rent-pricing-software/index.md): Pinnacle agreed to a proposed DOJ consent decree filed Sept. 4; Camden Property Trust is the only one of the six landlords Multifamily Dive lists that has not settled. The decrees bar pricing on competitors' nonpublic data; here is what pricing-software users should check this week. (2026-09-14, News brief)
- [August 2026 apartment rents up 0.9%: how to price fall renewals by market](https://www.proppely.com/insights/august-2026-apartment-rents-fall-renewal-pricing/index.md): RealPage shows rents up 0.9% year over year and Yardi Matrix logs its first positive August in years, but 1.2 million units still in lease-up cap growth. Renewal pricing this fall depends on your submarket's lease-up share and concession rate, not the national line. (2026-09-14, Market trend)