The Rent Roll with Jay Parsons

Rental housing economist Jay Parsons breaks down the realities of today's multifamily market: Debt is readily available, but equity is not ... unless it's preferred equity. Jay shares the latest data, including the historic spike in apartment loan originations, and explains why that might trigger some institutions to shift back toward equity strategies. Later in the program, Jay is joined by one of the early believers in the preferred equity, Marble Capital's David Oelfke. David talks about his journey starting ARA, growing it (along with partners) into a major apartment brokerage shop, selling it to Newmark, and then starting a new venture focused on preferred equity. How does preferred equity work and what are the advantages over common equity? Additionally, Jay analyzes the latest headlines on rental housing, including another big platform acquisition.

Is it better to manage properties in house, or to outsource to a third-party manager? It's an age-old question, and there's no one-size-fits-all answer. But there's no doubt that we continue to see far more consolidation in the management business than we do in property ownership. Why is that? Lantower Residential COO Emily Watson joins the podcast to share her experience, and talks about why her answer has evolved. Lantower recently made the decision to close its in-house management arm and hire a national third-party property manager. Emily candidly shares what drove that decision, how technology is changing the management game, and what early results they've seen thus far. Additionally on this episode, rental housing economist Jay Parsons gives his take on a busy week of headlines — breaking down the announced merger between AvalonBay and Equity Residential, as well as analyzing the impact of the U.S. House's major housing bill that just passed with overwhelmingly bipartisan support. Jay also shares recurring segments like Rental Housing Trivia, Good News and New Digs — where he profiles a recently announced major office-to-residential tower conversion.

It's a very tough environment for apartment developers to get new projects started these days, with starts cut in half from 2022's peak levels. So what are the common denominators for projects breaking ground of late? Rental housing economist Jay Parsons dives into the data and shares five common themes among projects that are still working today even amidst softer rents and higher cost of capital. One unique profile includes master-planned development with long-term build-to-hold ownership. Jay travels to Raleigh and talks with Rob Reid of Kane Realty — which has been some of Raleigh's coolest live/work/play neighborhoods — for a conversation on placemaking. Additionally, Jay brings back recurring segments like In the News, Rental Housing Trivia, Good Question and Good News.

Rental housing economist Jay Parsons shares his top four takeaways from the single-family rental REITs' Q1'26 earnings calls — including how they're navigating heightened regulatory risk surrounding the ROAD to Housing Act, why stock buybacks are now preferred over investing in new development, how leasing activity is picking up this spring after a slow fall and winter, and much more. Additionally, Jay shares the latest news on the federal legislation: Will build-to-rent get carved out? Additionally, Jay shares headlines about the emergence of an unlikely pro-development folk hero and the bizarre rent inflation numbers released this week. And in this week's "Good News" segment, Jay tells the story of how one apartment manager helped a resident get through college — and how that resident is now paying it forward. Later in the program, Jay welcomes in Zelman's SFR REIT analyst, Jesse Lederman, for a conversation on AMH and Invitation Homes. Jesse shares his view on regulatory risk, the recent improvement in the REITs' stock prices, the leasing season, and the SFR outlook.

Rental housing economist Jay Parsons recaps his six big takeaways from the apartment REITs' first quarter earnings calls that just wrapped up — starting with the big news that leaked after hours, the rumored merger discussions between AvalonBay and Equity Residential. What would be the implications of merging two of the biggest names in multifamily? Jay also shares color and highlights from the REITs' calls — touching on spring leasing momentum, rents, the big push toward stock buybacks over acquisitions, and differences between key markets across the U.S. Jay also shares the latest news on the ROAD to Housing Act, which took a positive turn this week as Politico reported the White House was pulling its support for the Senate legislation that effectively bans most build-to-rent construction. Also in the program, Jay welcomes in veteran Wall Street REIT analyst Alexander Goldfarb of Piper Sandler, who shares his take on the last rounding of earnings calls, the potential merger between AVB and EQR, and his thoughts on why REIT investors value apartments below net asset value.