Multi-Family REITs in in the COVID Context
The big takeaway from the Q2 2020 earnings calls of U.S. apartment REITs is the developing trend of urban flight from American cities. Multiple REITs are reporting the need to offer deep concessions, concerns about lease renewals and reduced occupancy. Coastal markets like New York, Boston, San Francisco and Los Angeles are the primary locations of this growing trend. Several reasons, many self-reinforcing, are driving these developments. Common explanatory variables include COVID-19 and the associated economic ruin, the increased freedom to “work from home” (WFH) driven by big