Industry News

Apartments.com National Survey Reveals Ninety-Six Percent of Renters are Moving in 2009

The Majority of Moves Are Motivated by New Locations and Better Bargains

The apartment rental market is facing challenges like never before. For the first time in six years, apartment rents are down nationwide and vacancies continue to climb. Adding to this market pressure is competition felt from the “shadow market” or a surge of investor-owned homes and condos that account for almost half of the rental stock, expanding the national rental supply. Despite these recent obstacles, a national Apartments.com survey found that an overwhelming majority of renters are still looking for a new place to live this year and more than half are planning to pay the same or more in rent.Read the story here

FHA Waives Rule Affecting Apartment Owners

Responding to the freeze in the capital markets, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has issued temporary regulations making it easier for apartment owners to access the FHA for permanent mortgage financing. In the past, FHA 223(f) loans have been unavailable to properties that have been constructed or rehabilitated within three years of applying for FHA insurance.

The FHA has commenced a six-month waiver of the Three-Year Rule. To be exempt from the rule, applicants must submit documentation indicating they have been unable to obtain permanent conventional financing or that current offers of conventional financing have been cancelled. The entire building must have a certificate of occupancy dated no later than July 31, 2008. The building must also have achieved sustained occupancy (90 percent) for the immediate three months before the application for insurance is submitted.Read more at

HUD’s Fair Market Rent Documentation System

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD's) Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R) is responsible for maintaining current information on housing needs, market conditions, and existing programs, as well as conducting research on priority housing and community development issues. The Fair Market Rent Documentation system provides complete documentation of the development of the Fair Market Rents (FMRs) for any area of the country selected by the user.

Fair Market Rents (FMRs) determine the eligibility of rental housing units for the Section 8 Housing Assistance Payments program. Section 8 Rental Certificate program participants cannot rent units whose rents exceed the FMRs. FMRs also serve as the payment standard used to calculate subsidies under the Rental Voucher program. FMRs are gross rent estimates. They include the shelter rent plus the cost of all utilities, except telephones. The Department of Housing and Urban Development sets FMRs to assure that a sufficient supply of rental housing is available to program participants. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) annually estimates FMRs for 354 metropolitan areas and 2,350 nonmetropolitan county FMR areas. View annual tables of fair markets rents here

NMHC Guidance: FACT Act Identity Theft Regulations--Red Flag and Address Discrepancy Rules

Apartment firms should be aware of new federal identity theft prevention rules that went into effect on November 1, 2008 as they impose some compliance obligations on our industry as users of consumer credit reports. The rules implement Sections 114 and 315 of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACT Act). Known commonly as the “Red Flag” and Address Discrepancy Rule, its overall objective is to prompt businesses to take additional steps to authenticate a person’s identity when certain warning signs of potential identity theft are present. Apartment firms are required to comply with the third section of the rule that implements Section 315 of the FACT Act and applies to users of credit reports. Read more here