Interesting situation emerging as there is a shortage of homes for sale while there might be a slight oversupply of rental apartments. It may at least lead to a period of stable rents which should mute inflation in living cost at a time when interest rates may rise at the Fed meeting.
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Major landlord sees 'weakness' in San Francisco market
Jun 2, 2016, 6:54am PDT Updated Jun 2, 2016, 9:11am PDT
INDUSTRIES & TAGS Residential Real Estate, Economic Snapshot
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Riley McDermid
Digital Producer
San Francisco Business Times
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Huge landlord Equity Residential said this week that under performance in its San Francisco portfolio was a factor in a decision to lower its revenue forecast for the second time this year, raising alarms that the city's white hot housing boom may finally have hit a ceiling.
“The revision is being driven by continued weakness in its New York portfolio and recent under performance in the company’s San Francisco portfolio,” Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR) said in the statement. “New lease rates are not meeting original projections due to new rental apartment supply.”
Equity Residential tower at 340 Fremont, a 40-story, 348-unit apartment tower in San Francisco.
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Equity Residential tower at 340 Fremont, a 40-story, 348-unit apartment tower in San… more
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Equity said it now expects to see revenue growth from its properties to hit 4.5 percent this year, down from the 5 percent it had revised downward in April from 5.25 percent. That news pressured shares of Equity in trading this week, furthering a trend that has seen the company's stock price drop more than 11 percent over the last year, Bloomberg reports.
The downgrade is a marked reversal from earlier guidance Equity has provided: Only months ago, the landlord was aggressively bullish on the strength of San Francisco market, telling the Business Times it has seen only positive signs of growth.
“We haven’t seen a softening in the lease-up of our new developments, despite what some people have portended to be the case," Corey Warren, vice president of property management at Equity Residential, told the Business Times in March.
"In fact, Azure is now 94 percent leased and we have been leasing approximately 30 residences a month," Warren said then. "At one of our other new developments, 1010 Potrero, we’re signing eight to 10 leases a week. Offering a month of free rent is standard practice in the lease-up process of new communities in the industry overall.”
A spokeswoman for Equity Residential declined to comment beyond the firm's guidance.
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