RENT Magazine Q2 '23

RISING UTILITY COSTS EATING AWAY AT YOUR NOI? THERE’S HELP!

Utility costs continue to climb while rents and unit demand are dropping, leaving many property owners scratching their heads trying to figure out how to continue to profit from their properties. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the residential electricity price nationwide increased 1.5% in 2022. This seems to be a trend with no end in sight.

Water bills have increased at an even greater pace, driven by massive drought and increased population growth in the Western United States. Many cities are contending with aging systems, fewer resources, and extreme weather, pushing water and wastewater bills up by 30% in less than a decade. The rental market in the US has been in continual flux. People are paying the highest percentage of their income in rent that has ever been reported—a staggering 40%. (The recommended proportion is 25% to 30% of income to rent.) An inevitable market correction has seemingly arrived. October 2022 saw the third largest drop in rental market prices since 2010, a trend that

continued into 2023. Some areas have seen a rebound, but demand and costs continue to fluctuate, changing what some markets will bear. Housing providers and residents alike are being squeezed by inflation that, while slowing, is still much higher than we’ve seen in recent years, causing people to be much more conservative in their spending.

AN INEVITABLE MARKET CORRECTION HAS SEEMINGLY ARRIVED.

PAGE 16

Powered by