The Rent Roll with Jay Parsons

We've been hearing about the so-called wall of maturities and looming distress in multifamily for a couple years now. So, where is it? When will it show it up? What could it look like, and what implications could it have (or not have) on the broader multifamily market? Rental housing economist Jay Parsons shares the latest on apartment distress, and how we could be seeing a mismatch between capital chasing distressed deals versus actual distressed opportunities in the market. Jay then welcomes in the head of a major apartment lender, Michael Comparato of Benefit Street Partners, to dive deeper...

What's the latest on the U.S. apartment market? Rental housing economist Jay Parsons shares fresh data and commentary on multifamily fundamentals across the country — and notes it's no longer as clean-cut as coastal versus Sun Belt. Jay breaks down the key performance indicators from supply and demand to occupancy and rent, hunting for green shoots and giving perspective on when we could see concessions burn off and rent growth rebound. RealPage Chief Economist Carl Whitaker joins the podcast to share his take on the 2026 outlook, particularly around demand drivers given increased uncertainty in the economy. Reduced supply is a...

Institutional investors in single-family rentals are suddenly front-page news thanks to President Trump's proposed ban on institutions buying houses. But what does the data and academic research tell us about institutions' impact on home prices, home sales, homeownership, rents and on neighborhoods? And how do those impacts vary in the parts of the country with heavier concentrations of institutional investors? Rental housing economist Jay Parsons breaks down the 10 most common myths we're hearing about institutional investors in single-family housing, and responds to each one with data from academic papers, renter surveys and leading data sources. And to help further...

What's the latest in the single-family rental and build-to-rent market? The sectors are drawing a lot of attention right now, driven by widening discount to rent versus buy. But that isn't translating into improved leasing velocity or rent growth for SFR operators. Why not? Rental housing economist Jay Parsons explains, and outlines what might play out this year. Additionally, Jay shares his take on President Trump's announcement that he will pursue a ban on institutional investors buying single-family homes. Later in the program, Jay welcomes in one of the nation's early pioneers in BTR development — Josh Hartmann, the CEO of...

It's predictions time! Rental housing economist Jay Parsons shares 15 predictions for apartments and single-family rentals in 2026 — including his take that apartment absorption could drop off even if job market rallies, and Jay explains why that's not necessarily a bad signal for the sector. Jay also shares his takes on the impact of immigration policy, the outlook for apartment and SFR rents, and what role distress might play in the capital markets. In addition, the main event of this episode is our guest, the one and only John Burns — the founder and CEO of John Burns Research & Consulting. John shares his...

Rental housing economist Jay Parsons rolls back the tape on his 10 predictions for the apartment and single-family rental market in 2025. What played out as expected, and where did he miss? It turns out there was a common theme among the two big "misses." In the second half of the program, Jay welcomes in Newmark's managing director and head of multifamily capital markets research, Mike Wolfson. Mike shares his own thoughts on how 2025 played out versus expectations, then Jay and Mike discuss the capital markets environment going into 2026. What's driving the return of debt capital back into apartments, and what...

Are we seeing green shoots in the supply-drenched multifamily market? Rental housing economist Jay Parsons breaks down why the answer is "yes," while cautioning that a "green shoot" is just that — early signs of improved momentum, but not yet a rebound. He also notes that there's a long way to go, and the path to recovery could be choppy and uneven. Jay also reveals the one Sun Belt market seeing more green shoots than others right now, and what that could mean for other markets going forward. Later in the program, Jay welcomes in the CEO of CAPREIT, Andrew Ka...

Greystar's incoming head of U.S. property management, Toni Eubanks, joins The Rent Roll with Jay Parsons to share her journey from leasing units on site to leading the nation's largest apartment manager with nearly 1 million units. Toni shares her take on how the property management business has evolved over the last few decades, and where it's headed from here. Toni also reveals some of her priorities and goals at Greystar as she steps into the expanded role on January 1. Additionally, Jay shares his take on the latest headlines impacting rental housing — including a CNBC headline declaring that vacancy ha...

How is AI impacting the rental housing business? Rental housing economist Jay Parsons cuts through the noise and the hype to look at the current state of AI in the multifamily and BTR industries, as well as the impact of AI on demand drivers like employment. Additionally, Jay welcomes Tyler Christiansen, the CEO of one of the nation's leading prop tech firms using AI, Funnel. Jay and Tyler discuss what's real and what's not, how to measure the impact of AI on NOI, and what the next advancements in AI could look like for property owners and managers. Additionally...

Rental housing economist Jay Parsons highlights smaller markets outpunching their weight class in fundamentals and in capital flow. It's easy to dismiss tertiary markets as volatile and less liquid, but that's not true across the board. Some markets are more attractive than others. To help inform the discussion, Jay welcomes in the CEO of Centerspace, Anne Olson, who runs the one public REIT that maintains a heavy presence in tertiary markets — while also expanding into larger MSAs. What are the pros and cons of investing in smaller markets? And why do investors (especially Wall Street) tend to undervalue even th...

Rental housing economist Jay Parsons shares his top 5 takeaways from the single-family rental REITs' earnings calls — highlights from AMH and Invitation Homes. Jay shares the SFR REITs' take on the current state of the market, and whether they are seeing any signs of a slowdown in leasing. Another big topic: REIT stock prices versus net asset values, and what that widening gap means for the REITs. Jay also discusses the latest data combatting a major myth: The REITs aren't buying much off the MLS; in fact, they're selling a lot more than they're buying, while they continue to invest in...

Rental housing economist Jay Parsons shares his Top 5 highlights from the apartment REITs' Q3 earnings calls. Are the REITs seeing a slow down? Are they seeing concerns around renter financial health? Why are REITs buying back their own stock, and what does that mean for acquisitions and development capital? And how are they thinking about 2026? Additionally, Mizuho managing director and senior REIT Analyst Haendel St. Juste joins the conversation to share his thoughts on apartment REITs, their outlook for 2026 and whether he expects to see more REITs taken private due to significant discounts to net asset value.

Is it time to worry about apartments and single-family rentals? We're hearing more talk about a possible recession — fueled by a softening labor market and a government shutdown. Rental housing economist Jay Parsons breaks down the latest data in the economy and in housing to find clues on the direction of the market. Jay shares his take on the various mixed signals, and offers up tips and strategies for preparing for the road ahead. Later in the program, Jay welcomes in Middleburg Communities founder and CEO Chris Finlay. Jay quizzes Chris on Middleburg's investment and development strategies for 2026 and be...

It's that time of year: Budget season. Rental housing economist Jay Parsons offers up data, tips and ideas for how to think about revenue and expenses in 2026. We know supply will drop off, but will occupancy rates stabilize and concessions burn off? Will rents rebound? Will we continue to see high retention and steady renewal rent growth, or could some operators run into challenges with inverted rent rolls and gain-to-lease scenarios pushing down renewals? And what about operating expenses? Expense growth has (finally) cooled off materially of late, so will that continue into 2027? To further aid the discussion, Jay...

Rental housing economist Jay Parsons shares his take on the latest data on multifamily fundamentals. Is demand holding strong? Why are rents falling? Is supply still trending down? Are renters still renewing leases at record levels? Is there any sign of an impact from slowing job growth? Jay breaks down the Q3 and September data in hopes of providing some clarity amidst the Year of Uncertainty. For additional clarity, Jay welcomes onto the podcast Alyson Bode, the SVP for research and data strategy at Kettler. Jay and Alyson talk about how 2025 has played out versus expectations going into the...

The Rent Roll hits the road for its first episode in front of a live audience! Rental housing economist Jay Parsons interviews the executive leadership of apartment developer JPI — CEO Payton Mayes, CFO/CIO Mollie Fadule and chief of construction and design Kyley Harvey. The group discusses the case for building apartments now, impediments to getting new projects started, expansion into new markets and the impact of tariffs and immigration policy on construction. Additionally, Jay lays out the latest data on apartment construction. When does supply finally taper off, and when could rent growth rebound? How does supply timing di...

Is there demand for family-friendly, Class A apartments? Bobby Fijan — aka the "Bill James of apartment floorplans" — joins the podcast to make the case. Bobby partnered with Arnold Ventures on a first-of-its-kind, in-depth study on family-friendly apartments. Will people pay for luxury apartments suitable for kids? Why are so few apartments today built with families in mind? What makes a "family-friendly" apartment? Rental housing economist Jay Parsons walks through the findings with Bobby. Jay also tees up a Rental Housing Trivia question centered on the increased prevalence of smaller units targeted for single, child-less adults. Additionally, Jay breaks down a bu...

Rental housing economist Jay Parsons reviews the current state of affairs in the single-family rental market, sharing the latest data and trends. Is the ice-cold homebuyer market causing a big boom in SFR? Not exactly, but the SFR market is holding up fine — underscoring its lower-volatility nature. Additionally, Jay welcomes in this week's special guest, Scott Eisen. Scott is the chief investment officer and executive vice president at one of the nation's largest SFR owners, Invitation Homes. Jay and Scott talk about myths versus realities in the SFR market, and delve into Invitation Homes' growth strategy. How active is In...

Rental housing economist Jay Parsons makes the case for why rate cuts make sense — and how the government's inflation measure may have masked the earlier cooldown in inflation, in addition to recent downward revisions in job growth. Additionally, Jay welcomes in the head of the Terwilliger Center for Housing Policy — named for the long-time CEO of Trammell Crow Residential — to talk pro-housing policy. Will the White House declare a "national housing emergency" as reported, and if so, what does that mean for apartment and SFR investors and developers? How do we solve for the growing shortage in affordable housing, includ...

What's the latest on multifamily capital markets? Rental housing economist Jay Parsons shares the latest data on apartment sales, cap rates and debt trends before welcoming in the chief economist of MSCI Real Assets, Jim Costello. Jim and Jay discuss potential distress in the apartment sector, the lack of development capital, the influx of debt funds, and the current buy box for institutional capital. And when do we see apartment sales transactions finally start to take off again? Additionally, it was a busy news week — with lots of headlines to cover for the "In the News" segment, including a po...