DALLAS, TX – Seasonal trends, along with the continued moderation of the apartment market, were reflected in the August 2016 performance picture, according to Axiometrics, the leader in apartment and student housing market research and analysis.

August annual effective rent growth of 2.9% was the first time the rate fell below 3% since February 2014. Rent growth still remains above the 1996-2015 average of 2.2%. Meanwhile, occupancy increased to 95.2% in August.

“Historically, rent growth has decreased and occupancy has increased in August,” said Jay Denton, senior vice president of analytics for Axiometrics. “With school starting, more people are settled in their residences and fewer people go. The reduced demand has property owners and managers holding off on rent hikes.”

Also, Denton added, “Residents who sign leases in August often don’t go in until September or October, and owners tend to be less aggressive about rents during this time so they don’t miss opportunities to fill units.”

The recent trend of rent-growth decline was demonstrated by the nearly across-the-board decreases from July figures in individual metros. Some 38 of Axiometrics’ top 50 markets, based on number of units, recorded lower rent growth, as did 75 out of Axiometrics’ top 120.

Occupancy remains a bright spot, with the rate above 95.0% — the rate at which Axiometrics considers a property or market full — for the sixth straight month and the 13th month of the past 17.

Rent Growth Drops in Most Metros

Axio top 50 markets that saw decreased rent growth month-over-month also declined year-over-year, but markets with higher month-to-month growth were split between increased and decreased year-over-year rates.

Except for Sacramento and Riverside — which recorded the two highest rent-growth rates among top 50 metros in August — the markets in the bottom three categories were primarily in the Midwest, Southeast and Northeast. The Northeast markets, not including DC, experienced increased rent growth after several months of decline.

Note San Francisco and Houston as markets that have decreased annual rates. Houston recorded its fifth straight month with negative rent growth, falling to -2.9% in August. The oversupplied, urban-core Montrose/River Oaks submarket was the primary culprit with -8.0% effective rent growth.

San Francisco fell to -1.7% rent growth in August, and was joined in negative territory by San Jose, at -1.6%. Oakland was still above water at 1.4%, its lowest rate since April 2010.

Top 3 Metros Remain the Same

Sacramento marked six straight months as the market with the highest annual effective rent growth among the Axiometrics top 50, with Riverside and Seattle remaining at Nos. 2 and 3 for the second straight month.

Atlanta had the strongest upward go, climbing two spots to No. 8, while Charleston recorded the largest drop, four places to No. 17.

All the metros in the list below held over from July’s list. Just small of the mark are surprising Indianapolis and Memphis, which had the two highest year-over-year rent-growth increases among the top 50 — 329 bps and 255 bps, respectively.

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SAN FRANCISCO, CA – RealtyShares, a leading online marketplace for real estate crowdfunding, has closed a major multifamily property investment led by the Network Acquisition Partnership Alliance, also known as NAPA Ventures. The investment will fund the acquisition, renovation and repositioning of the Westwood Apartments, a 187-unit complex comprising 25 residential buildings and a leasing office on a 9.4 acre site in Dallas.

NAPA Ventures is a multifamily and commercial real estate investment company based in Texas, with a growing portfolio of holdings in the Lone Star state and other rapidly growing markets. With extensive experience in the Dallas real estate market, NAPA is well-positioned to manage the entire development process, from acquiring the property, to renovating units and upgrading community amenities, to repositioning the apartments for rental and sale.

“Crowdfunding has certainly changed the landscape of real estate investments, and we are glad to have partnered with RealtyShares, which is on the forefront of this movement,” said Shravan Parsi, Co-CEO and Principal of NAPA Ventures. “From launch to close, the traditional capital raising process is chaotic, time-consuming and involves expensive legal work. With RealtyShares we raised capital within days of listing our sponsored deal, and we were able to seamlessly send information to investors, disseminate funds and close documents through the platform.”

Through the RealtyShares platform, investors from across the country are participating in the NAPA Ventures sponsored deal. The firm has been active in the Dallas area, raising $2.6 million from online investors for an Arlington property in July.

“NAPA has been able to raise nearly $5 million in capital in the past 60 days on the RealtyShares platform, affording investors access to real estate opportunities that potentially would never have been possible before,” said Brian Esquivel, Director of Commercial Equity Investments at RealtyShares. “This property was sold off-market by an out-of-state seller, as part of a larger package that NAPA will buy over several months. Located in a rapidly developing area with a stabilized workforce, this is a possible prime opportunity for investors to tap into. NAPA continues to offer valuable assets to our network of investors.”

The RealtyShares platform also participated in a Grand Prairie, Texas project in June. To date, RealtyShares’ network of accredited investors have funded more than $150 million worth of investments in more than 2000 properties.

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BELLEVUE, WA – Global real estate investment company Kennedy Wilson announced that Kennedy Wilson Real Estate Fund V bought a 100% interest in LIV Bel-Red, a 451-unit multifamily community in Bellevue, Washington, for $172 million. Fund V invested $58 million of equity and secured a 10-year loan of $115 million through Fannie Mae at a rate of LIBOR + 2.31%.

“We are excited to increase our footprint within the Bel-Red corridor with this high quality asset,” said Shem Streeter, Managing Director of Kennedy Wilson Multifamily Investments. “Bel-Red is in the early stages of an ongoing transformation with the expansion of mass transit, lifestyle amenities, and new development of globally-recognized firms. Kennedy Wilson has been successfully investing in Washington for over a decade, and our deep knowledge of the local market will benefit the implementation of our asset management strategy at this property.”

LIV Bel-Red is a class-A apartment community located in Bellevue, WA. The property was built in 2015 and consists of 451 apartments with gourmet kitchens with quartz countertops, stainless steel appliances, tile backsplashes, oversized windows and in-unit washer/dryers. LIV Bel-Red consists of four buildings, each with rooftop decks fully-equipped with amenities including lounge furniture, dining areas, outdoor televisions, and BBQs. The affluent Bellevue submarket has a diverse employment base, including Microsoft’s world headquarters, Boeing, Expedia, Salesforce, Symetra Financial and many other Fortune 500 companies in neighboring cities. Bellevue also boasts some of the top public schools in the country, and is located near the expansion of a light rail extension which will offer service to and from Seattle.

Kennedy Wilson is a 12% investor in Fund V. The Company now has an ownership interest in 10,344 units across 40 communities in the State of Washington.

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