COVID-19: Impact on Payments (Webcast Summary)

To support the multifamily community through the COVID-19 crisis, we’ve launched a series of discussions centered around its impact on the rental housing industry with the latest data, expert insights and actionable measures stakeholders can take to minimize fallout. Register for upcoming webcasts and watch previous episodes on-demand at the COVID-19: Resource Center. This is a condensed summary from the webcast, COVID-19: Impact on Payments, broadcast on April 28, co-hosted by RealPage VP and Deputy Chief Economist Jay Parsons with special guests: Marcie Williams, President, RKW Residential; Heather Shrader, Vice President, Grady Management; Rafal Krawczyk, Director IT, Sequoia; Erica Reinke, Vice President Property Management, Steadfast Companies; Jason Grovert, CIO, Steadfast Companies; Keri Fields, Assistant Communication Manager, Steadfast Companies; Gina Carter, Vice President Operations Blue Ridge Companies; and Matt Davis, SVP and GM Financial Services Division at RealPage.   LATEST ECONOMIC UPDATES & MARKET TRENDSData assessing three weeks of April rents revealed a higher figure than the industry anticipated with rent paid by 89% of residents—a decline of 4 percentage points from the same period last year. The top 5 performing markets were Salt Lake City, Sacramento, Riverside/San Bernardino, Virginia Beach/Norfolk and San Diego, while the weakest metros were New York, New Orleans, Las Vegas and Detroit—areas that have endured some of the hardest hits from infections, fatalities and job loss resulting from the pandemic. In general, collections were most challenging with Class C properties, but an additional weak spot has been high-rise buildings in downtown submarkets with exposure to corporate leases held by short-term rental companies who have exhausted cash flow. THE 4 MOST COMMON PAYMENT PLANSThe repercussions of the pandemic have accelerated the utilization of online payments, with the surge beginning the latter half of...