The National Multifamily Housing Council‘s Rent Payment Tracker reports that 86.9% of renting households had paid rent as of Aug. 13, a significant increase from Aug. 6, when just 79.3% had made rent payments.
Year over year, this is just 2% less than rent payments collected Aug. 13, 2019.
RealPage said that although the gradual increase in collections over the course of the month is normal, reduced unemployment benefits still leave renters unsure about where their next payment will come from. Congress went on its summer recess last week without a decision on further unemployment payments.
“While more federal help may ultimately emerge, it remains unclear when those funds can be distributed, if the assistance arrives at all,” Greg Willett, RealPage’s chief economist, said in the report.
Locations with the best rent payment results through Aug. 13 included Providence, Rhode Island, where 94.6% of households made rent payments; Virginia Beach, Virginia, 93.8%; Riverside, California, 92.7%; Oakland, California, 92.5%; Sacramento, California, 92.5%; and San Diego, 92.4%.
Missed payments were again most frequent in lower-priced Class C properties, Real Page said. Through Aug. 13, this month’s rent was collected from 82.6% of the residents in Class C units, while 88.2% of both Class A and Class B inventories were made in time.
Payments still remain low in big metros. Just 79.8% of households in metro New York’s professionally managed apartment stock made rent payments, while 84% to 85% in Las Vegas and New Orleans were up to date.
