Research desk
Scattered-site and build-to-rent single-family portfolios: rents, turnover, buy-box shifts and the operating math of houses instead of doors. The desk publishes an original briefing every morning, and every one that carries this tag collects here.
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Harvard's JCHS projects new arrivals will add just 132,000 renter households in 2027, down from 571,000 in 2024. With rental vacancy at 7.6%, landlords should stress-test 2027 budgets, lock renewals early and keep screening unchanged.
Read the briefingFlorida voters approved Amendment 3 with about 62% of the unofficial vote. Rentals get no new homestead exemption, but starting Jan. 1, 2027 non-homestead assessments can rise only 5% a year for non-school taxes. Taxes depend on what counties do next.
Read the briefingCensus says U.S. rental vacancy rose to 7.6% in Q3 2026, the highest in its table back to 2020, with principal cities at 8.8% and the South at 9.2%. Apartment data looks tighter. Here's how to read both and what to do this week.
Read the briefingCensus data show apartment starts in large buildings fell 25.9% year over year in September while pending home sales dropped 11.3%. The pipeline is thinning and renters are staying put, but Class C and real wages are weak spots.
Read the briefingRedfin's median sale price fell 0.1% year over year to $389,601 as pending sales hit a record low. Fewer residents will leave to buy, single-family rentals may face new competition, and selling a rental now favors the buyer.
Read the briefingThe federal ROAD to Housing Act is law, but little of it works yet. Investors with 350+ single-family homes face a purchase ban from Jan. 7, 2027, plus new renter-notice and HUD reporting duties; voucher inspection relief still waits on guidance.
Read the briefingA new federal pilot lets local programs lend small landlords repair money, forgivable within 3 years. The price for owners not renting to voucher holders: a rent-increase cap at the lower of 5% or inflation, lease-extension offers and affordability terms. HUD has not yet announced funding for it.
Read the briefingRealtor.com says 20.8% of listings cut prices in September, a four-year high, as rates topped 7% and homes under contract fell 4.1%. Renters may stay longer, but asking rents are still down 0.9%, and buying a rental just got easier to negotiate.
Read the briefingThe 10-year Treasury yield reached 5.24% on Sept. 28 and Freddie Mac's 30-year rate hit 7.03%. Owners with loans, rate caps or IO periods ending soon should rerun refinance math, price caps, and push renewals early.
Read the briefingChicago's City Council deferred both renter ordinances to September 29. Mayor Johnson's PRO would charge $20 to $60 per unit a year and ban move-in fees; the rival FAIR ordinance has no registration fee and allows disclosed move-in fees. Either one would create a rental registry.
Read the briefingCalifornia 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.
Read the briefingThe 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.
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