Is rental affordability finally improving for the average American renter? Moody’s Senior Economist Lu Chen joins us to discuss surprising trends in multifamily supply and demand, and how rent growth might be impacted for real estate investors. With affordability nearing pre-pandemic levels, there’s significant easing in rental prices thanks to increased supply. Are rents about to fall even further, or will steady demand keep them stable? Discover what’s really happening in the housing market with intriguing regional and demographic shifts that could influence your next investment move.
Dave:
Affordability is arguably the single biggest factor driving the housing market. And by some measures it’s improving. The median rent is now as affordable as it was before the pandemic, but that positive trend comes with some concerns to investors like, is rent growth going to stay low? Will we see a rebound in rents in multifamily? What about single family? These are complex questions, but they’re key to formulating a good investing thesis in 2025 and beyond. So today we’re breaking it down. Welcome back to On the Market. I’m Dave Meyer, and today we’re talking about rental affordability plus a few other topics. And joining us to help is Lu Chen, senior economist at Moody’s. Lu has more than a decade of experience studying the commercial real estate sector and is great at helping us understand how that commercial activity can actually spill into the residential market as well. In today’s show, we’ll talk about rent affordability and also break down some surprising regional supply trends and the shifting demographics that could drive market changes, market dynamics and returns during the next few years. This conversation was a lot of fun. Lu even brought a housing data quiz to try and stump me. So let’s get into it and you can see how I did. Lu, welcome back to On the Market. Thanks for being here.
Lu:
Thank you for having me Dave.
Dave:
I am eager to…