COVID-19: Impact on Rental Housing Operations (Webcast Summary)

To help our customers and the multifamily community as a whole through the current COVID-19 crisis, we’ve launched a series of discussions, COVID-19: Multifamily Impact and Performance Insights, centered around its impact on the rental housing industry with the latest data, expert insights and actionable measures stakeholders can take to minimize fallout. This is a condensed summary from the third webcast in the series, COVID-19: Impact on Rental Housing Operations, broadcast on March 26, with RealPage’s VP and Deputy Chief Economist Jay Parsons, SVP Consumer Solutions Nikhil Ventakesh, SVP Financial Services Matt Davis and Modern Message CEO John Hinckley, along with interviews of industry veterans from across the country. STIMULUS PACKAGE UPDATE AND LATEST FORECASTWith the latest unemployment numbers hitting an all-time high—3,283,000 claims were filed last week—Congress continued to work toward agreement on a massive stimulus package with key measures that would help renters directly, including an additional $600/week in unemployment payments. The package also includes one-time checks of $1,200 per adult, and an additional $500 per child that would apply to most households. Though there is no direct stimulus to property owners, the expectation is that the direct financial support will better position residents to pay rent. Given these and other market factors, economists have drastically revised their economic forecasts. Last week, most economists expected a negative GDP change in Q2 as deep as -5%. Every forecast now goes much deeper. The extremes include -24% from Goldman Sachs and -30% from Morgan Stanley. Despite these formidable numbers, we are still heartened by the measures owners and operators are taking to sustain their communities and wanted to share some of their best practices and strategic guidance for navigating these troubled waters. HOW THE INDUSTRY IS OVERCOMING OBSTACLES WITH THE VIRTUAL LEASING OFFICEOperating an...