Coronavirus Is Sending Luxury Rental Markets on a Rollercoaster Ride

The pandemic is affecting the leasing landscape in cities like Chicago, New York and Seattle in different ways

The Wall Street Journal (June 5, 2020) -- With the pandemic roiling real estate, strange things are happening to luxury-rental landlords and tenants. In some cities hit hard and early by the virus, such as Seattle, tenants are finding they have to move even faster to snap up upscale homes, while in others, such as Los Angeles, concessions are jumping. New lease signings have plummeted in New York, but agents in Miami say demand for luxury apartments is high.

To try to make sense of it, we dug into the data and details in major U.S. cities. RealPage, a provider of technology and analytics to the rental industry, analyzed the top 25% most expensive apartments in the most upscale buildings in these markets for list prices and concessions. Rental Beast, which currently collects data on eight million rental units, including “mom and pop”-owned buildings, examined gross rents and how many people are searching online for luxury apartments. We spoke to CEOs whose companies own thousands of units around the country, developers launching new projects, property managers, real-estate agents, landlords and tenants.

Read more at: The Wall Street Journal