the landlord times - on-site - august 2013

In October of 2012 Washington State landlords were, in this attor-ney’s humble opinion, kicked in the teeth by the Division 1 Washington Court of Appeals. This very unwel-come dental work came in the form of the Landis case. For those inter-ested, that is Landis & Landis Con-struction, LLC, an Oregon limited liability company vs Nicola Nation d/b/a Nation Management, 286 P.3d 979 (Wash.App Div. 1 2012).

While this case is new enough that its impact has not yet been fl eshed out in subsequent courts, it seems likely that this case will accomplish four unfortunate things from the landlord perspective and one from the tenants view. First, this case seems likely to mean that a tenant can both unilater-ally cancel a rental contract without any notice to the landlord based on habitability claims. Second, it will likely minimize the need for a ten-ant to actually inform the landlord of any alleged habitability claims be-fore effectively using those surprise claims as a defense of an eviction that

In Seattle, all multi-family proper-ties are required by law to subscribe to a food and yard waste cart and make it available to residents.

Why does Seattle require yet another container? Here are several important reasons:• Food and yard waste can be turned

into rich compost, and used to amend soils in gardens and land-scapes. Tests show that compost results in healthy strong plants, reducing the need for pesticides or insecticides. Sending this great resource to the landfill is like throwing your vitamins and pro-tein powder in the garbage can!

• It costs the City more money to send this material by train 300 miles to the landfill in Oregon than to deliver it to the local compost facility.

Tenant Survey Results Revealed re: Seattle’s Food Waste Collection

Continued on page 4

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Chapter 27

Page 17

Seattle - Apartment Insights 2nd quarter results show rents climbing and vacancies declining in all three counties, according to Tom Cain of Apartment Insights. The data are from his Seattle firm’s statistics and trends on 50+ unit properties in Pierce, Kitsap and Thurston coun-ties.

VACANCY: 5.59% The market vacancy for conven-

tional, stabilized 50+ unit properties in all three counties is 5.59%, down from 6.24% last quarter. The vacancy rate was 6.76% a year ago. The vacancy rate for all properties includ-ing those in lease-up is 6.22%, down from 6.97% in the first quarter.

Vacancy under 5% in Pierce; Thurston and Kitsap Improve

Continued on page 3

The Landis Bomb

Get Social With The Landlord Times

TOP SEVEN REASONS TO USE RENTAL PAYMENT

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Part 1 of 2

2 On-Site Northwest • August 2013

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Vacancy ...continued from front page

ON-SITE

Pierce: 4.87% The last time Pierce County's

vacancy rate was under 5.0% was in the third quarter of 2008. This quar-ter's rate of 4.87% vacancy is a wel-come improvement from the 5.69% of the first quarter. A year ago it was 6.76%.

The vacancy rate in Gig Harbor showed the steepest drop, and also has the lowest rate of any of the sub-markets in Pierce County at 2.95%. The Tacoma North, Central submar-ket has the highest rate, 5.23% vacan-cy.

Kitsap: 9.73% The market in Kitsap County

improved, but not by much. The vacancy rate broke into single digits, 9.73% from 10.12%.. A year ago the vacancy rate was 5.73%.

Bremerton's rate remains virtually unchanged at 14.11% vacancy. The Poulsbo/Bainbridge Island submar-ket has the lowest vacancy rate, 4.39%.

Thurston: 5.31% Thurston County's vacancy rate

dropped to 5.31% from 5.42%. A year ago Thurston had a 7.0% rate.

This is the second consecutive quarter that Tumwater is below 5%; it now stands at 4.79% vacancy. Olympia has the top rate of 5.62%.

RENTAL INCENTIVESPierce: $17 per Month (1.87%) Kitsap: $32 per Month (3.54%) Thurston: $14 per Month (1.64%)

The overall rate for rental incen-tives for the three-county area is 2.09%, down from 2.71% in the previ-ous quarter. All three counties showed an improvement in this category.

Thirty percent of the properties in the three-county area are offering incentives, a real improvement from the 40% in the first quarter.

RENTS: $865 Rents had flatlined in the three-

county area at around $852 for the past two years. It's a relief to see some real movement in the average rental rate. It is now at $865 per month, up from $854 last quarter.

Pierce: $855 per Month $1.01 per Square Foot Kitsap: $904 per Month $1.07 per Square Foot Thurston: $853 per Month $1.01 per Square Foot

Rents bumped up $9 per month in Kitsap, $10 in Thurston, and $12 in Pierce.

NEW CONSTRUCTIONThere are 900 units under con-

struction in the three-county area, most of which are in Pierce. There are 193 units that have completed the design review process, and another 3,233 units that are in the earlier stages of the construction pipeline.

The second phase of the 178-unit Trax at DuPont Station in DuPont

18

Continued on page 5

will almost always guarantee the ten-ant survives a show cause hearing and cause the need for a full blown trial. Third, it would appear this case has the potential to blow the value and purpose of doing an initial walk through inspection out the window. Finally, it would seem that afford-able housing for tenants will become increasingly rare because landlords are that much more likely to have to dump copious amounts of money, energy and time into their rentals or get out of the business altogether.

That being said, I am going to take a shot at giving some advice based on what we know so far. That will come in a follow up article. Before that I am going to try to give you some context and a nutshell version of what hap-pened in this case.

Landis is a construction company that rented a house in Bothell that was next to a construction site so that the company would have a location to operate from near their project. There was an initial walk through in which it was noted that the place smelled of cleaning agents and there were deposits made. When the com-pany began to move into the home, they noticed evidence that rodents had been there some time in the past. Note here, that they only saw some traps, some droppings and smelled something they attributed to rodents. No rodents were seen.

Landis then refused to move in and essentially canceled the contract with-out giving the landlord any notice or opportunity to correct the presumed or alleged problem. The landlord re-turned some of the deposit but not all of it. Landis sued.

The result of the case is that the Court of Appeals ruled that the ini-tial walk through may be of limited value on any given day and that, to the surprise of all the landlord attor-neys I know, the Residential Land-lord Tenant Act (RLTA) of 1973 did not really get rid of the old common law doctrine of “Implied Warranty of Habitability.” Well… before I yell “what the heck was the purpose of the darn law then”, I will try to ex-plain what that means.

Since 1973 we have been operat-ing under the, apparently misguided, opinion that what the RLTA meant when it gave us a list of those habit-ability things we as landlords are re-sponsible for keeping up to par, that that is what we are responsible for. Also misguided, was the reliance on the statute in RCW 59.18.080 where it says that if we did not have notice of any deficiencies in those areas the ten-ant cannot later use them as a defense if they are not current in their rent. It means now, that anything the land-lord “reasonably should have known about” is something the landlord is also responsible for and may be rea-

son for a trial to determine what the tenant rent really should be… rather than what the parties contracted for. Surprise. Oh, and if you thought doing a good comprehensive walk through prior to giving possession was going to cover your backside… nope. But you still have to do it and do it right or you still cannot hold that deposit. Period.

Let me remind you of a dirty little secret. If you have to start an evic-tion on a tenant for non-payment, two things are true. One, if the ten-ant has access to any of the volunteer attorneys that represent tenants, one of the first thing every one of those attorneys is going to ask the tenant is “are there ANY habitability issues AT ALL please, please, please, wink, wink!” Note I did not end that sen-tence with a question mark. Follow that with the fact that at a show cause hearing to determine who is entitled to possession, if there are any issues of fact that are both relevant and con-tested, the matter may not be decided at a hearing and it has to move on to a time consuming and expensive trial. Translate to English that means any of the he said/she said stuff that relates to habitability would have to be set for trial to determine if the rents should be reduced and if so, by how much. Well, the question about “what a landlord reasonably should have known” is automatically and by

its very nature, an issue of fact that is relevant and reason for trial.

Here is how that plays out. After you have worked with your tenant for 6 months let us say, taken late and partial payments, maybe waived late fees, even allowed the tenant to do some work in exchange for a reduc-tion in rents and maybe 75 text mes-sages from your tenant saying they just cannot pay but they are trying to get a job or that settlement is coming or unemployment checks will start soon etc. etc. etc. and you finally just get to the point where you have to go forward with an eviction, you will show up on the day of the hearing and for the first time in the tenancy you hear the tenant claim that there is mold in the bathroom and the ten-ant should not be required to pay the full rent. Well when you recover from the surprise of not hearing about that in any of those 75 text messages you say to the Court “well that is noth-ing I have been told before and that is probably because the tenant did not use the fan… if it is true at all.” Ten-ant or their free volunteer attorney will say “the landlord should have known your honor.” Well the Court is going to probably rule, based on Landis, that now you have to set this eviction for trial in a month because this Court does not have the legal au-thority to decide “whether or not the


Landis ...continued from front page

Continued on page 5

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ON-SITELandis ...continued from page 4

landlord should have known, or how much the rent should be reduced by if it is true, or even if it is true in the fi rst place. Only a trial judge can de-cide that. Now the attorney for your tenant says “you are going to lose an-other month’s rent and pay your at-torney many thousands of dollars to go to trial or if you don’t have an at-torney face your tenant’s attorney by yourself in a trial… how bad do you want to negotiate a settlement now?” Get out your checkbook.

No, we are not done with the bad news, because after all this is done, you have to do a move out inspection and you are going to do your dispo-sition letter explaining why you are keeping what you are keeping out of the deposit and your tenant is now going to say “B.S!” You will point to the initial walk through and the at-torney for the tenant, who happens to know that the landlord will be

on the hook for their attorney fees if they win, will pull out Landis and say “your initial walk through does not mean squat.” You see where this is going, but be aware that the volun-teer attorney can still get paid by you even if their client, the tenant, is not responsible to pay their volunteer at-torney anything, if they prevail.

None of this is good news for land-lords, in my humble opinion. You can always fi nd an attorney that will give you a different opinion over any other attorney, but I have not found a land-lord attorney yet that did not have indigestion over this Landis case. In fact, as President of Washington Apartment Association (WAA), I pro-posed legislation for the 2013 Session that would undo this case. As part of the WRHIC Coalition I was asked to hold on my bill and try to take this case on by appealing to the Supreme Court of this state. I agreed. This Ma-

rine is a stone cold team player and I had WAA write a sizable check to an-other organization for, what I believe may be the bulk of the cost of having a former Supreme Court Justice, and excellent appellate attorney, draft a request for the Supreme Court to take up the case. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court denied the request, which means we are stuck with the law unless we can now convince our legislators to change the statute to ex-clude the old common law doctrine that this case brought back to life for landlords. I promise, we will be pushing that legislation with every-thing we have.

That being said, what now?Best practices. What are they going

to be in light of this case? I am going to give you some thoughts on this in the next issue. I am not trying to create a cliffhanger; I simply have

to keep this article to a reasonable length. I am also hoping that for those of you who read this you will tell your fellow landlords and WAA members and help spread the word to pay attention to this article and look for the next issue. We need to get the word out and help educate our members on some defensive and adaptive approaches to remain suc-cessful in this business.

If there is a bright side to this Lan-dis bomb it is that it is not an IED that takes life and limb. God bless our he-roic service men and women of all our armed forces. Semper Fi!

Tune in and spread the word

Rob W. TricklerAttorney and Counselor at LawPresident Landlord Association

of the North SoundPresident Washington

Apartment Association

Vacancy ...continued from page 3

was completed this year. It is featured in the photo. Greystar is the manager.

OBSERVATIONS We are encouraged to see some

positive change in the three-county market, especially the rebound in Pierce where the vacancy rate dipped below 5% for the first time in nearly five years and rents increased 1.4%.

There are five properties totaling 535 units scheduled to open in the third quarter. They are spread among all three counties. While they will be providing competition for renters, their overall impact on existing prop-erties won't be significant.

The three-county market hasn't experienced the robust growth of metro Seattle in the recent past.

However, unlike Seattle it has the good fortune of not being hit with a flood of new units that will be competing for renters in the next few years.

Tom Cain of Apartment Insights Washington is a member of the nonprofit Central Puget Sound Real Estate Research Committee in charge of providing apart-ment rent and vacancy data. Tom has been

a member of the Committee for over 25 years, and has been researching apartment market trends in the Seattle area since 1978. His company surveys the five counties in Central and South Puget Sound.

This article highlights survey results that subscribers can access from an online database of all 50u+ properties. Apartment Insights also provides customized rent reports and market reports. www.apart-mentinsightswa.com 206-632-2220.

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ON-SITETenant ...continued from front page

• The City currently has a 55.7% recycling rate and the goal is 60% by 2015. Almost one-third of the garbage is food waste, which makes it a hot focus for diversion.

So the green food and yard waste cart has good benefits, but how to you get tenants to use it?

This is the million-dollar question that comes up at every City of Seattle Friend of Recycling and Composting (FORC) training where managers and resident leaders tell stories of finding pop cans and cardboard in the garbage or food waste in the recycling cart where it so does not belong.

Early in 2013, Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) sent out a survey to tenants to learn more about their food waste habits and concerns. Seattle properties of five or more units were the target audience. Over 1,650 residents responded and here is some of their feedback:

• Signs, flyers, and posters at the building improve participation. SPU provides free common area/outdoor laminated posters, food and yard waste flyers and “Where Does It Go?” flyers for units, and labels for outdoor containers. If you don’t have these materials, go to www.seattle.gov/util/recy-clingeducation or call 206.684.8717,

press #2 and leave a message requesting an order form.

• The Curb Waste & Conserve news-letter from Seattle Public Utilities is correlated with greater partici-pation by over 600 survey respon-dents. Make sure to distribute this free seasonal newsletter to your residents – it will boost your recy-cling and food sorting rate and reduce your garbage!

• Older residents recycle and com-post more. If your population is middle-aged or senior you can expect that they will be more will-ing to participate. Make the effort to provide signage, carts, flyers, and training so your garbage will go down. Senior facility “commer-cial” kitchens are prime opportu-nities to reduce waste and save money. SPU provides kitchen con-tainers to help with sorting. Leave a message at 206.684.8717, press #2.

• 16% of respondents reported not being able to find the food and yard waste cart. Although it’s the law, many tenants couldn’t find it. Resident comments indicated frustration and the desire to par-ticipate. Food waste collection combined with improved recy-cling can reduce your garbage ser-vice and save you money. Need assistance to make it work? Call 206.684.8717, press #2, and leave a

message.• 71% of residents with access to

food/yard carts use them at least once a week. Way to go! Our city is a national recycling leader and proud of it. Celebrate your tenants helping Seattle make the goal.

• Inconvenience is a primary barrier. If the recycling or food waste cart is too hard to find or too far away, residents won’t participate. Consider grouping your food/yard, recycling, and garbage con-tainers outdoors so people have convenience. Notify tenants where the carts are through new tenant orientation, posters or email/newsletters. SPU provides free indoor small food and yard waste carts for high rises so tenants don’t have to go down 20 floors to get to a cart. Leave a message at 206.684.8717, press #2, if interest-ed.

• Odors and pests put tenants off. Surprisingly, SPU has received almost no reports of increased rodents due to a food and yard waste cart. Remember, the food waste has been in the trash can forever; now it’s just re-located. The SPU- provided cart liner will help keep the cart clean which reduces odors. For tips on keeping food contained and flies and odors down, go to www.seattle.gov/util/apartmentfoodwaste.

SPU offers free educational resources and technical assistance to Seattle properties of five or more units:

• Download or order educational materials: www.seattle.gov/util/recyclingeducation

• $100 utility bill credit and FORC/free bucket program: www.seattle.gov/util/apartmentfoodwaste

• Or leave a message at 206.684.8717, press #2

By optimizing the food and yard waste program on your Seattle prop-erties, you are supporting eager “green” tenants, a healthier planet, and the City of Seattle’s budget and recycling goals.

Thanks for taking the challenge!

Marcia Rutan is the Community Recycling Program Manager for the City of Seattle, with a focus on multi-family properties. She is a 2013 Rosie award winner, a national recognition of outstanding women in the solid waste industry. Contact her at (206) 684-3976 or [email protected].


ON-SITEServing the Portland/Vancouver

Multifamily Housing Industry More than 21,000 Distributed Monthly www.TheLandlordTimes.com The statements and representations made in advertis-ing and news articles contained in this publication are those of the advertiser and authors and as such do not neces-sarily reflect the views or opinions of Professional Publishing, Inc. The inclu-sion of advertising in this publications

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products or services offered. Metro Apartment Manager is pro-duced monthly and is published by

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1/8 Page4 7/8” x 3 5/8” bwOn-Site4

ON-SITE-NW SEATTLEVALLEY, METRO, ARIZONA APT. NEWSSalsbury IndustriesFeb, Apr, Jun, Aug, Oct, Dec

1010 East 62nd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90001-1598Phone: 1-800-624-5269 • Fax: 1-800-624-5299

Dear Maintenance Men:I manage a number of properties that use a master key system. Do you have a plan or solution to pre-vent vendors from losing master keys? This is becoming a problem and an expensive risk. Janet

Dear Janet:Never, ever, ever give a master key to a vendor or anyone else not employed by your company. If the building is on a budget and cannot afford state of the art

systems for key control or access, try this simple and cost effective approach:

Install a temporary lockbox with the unit key inside and hang the lockbox on the door knob or a water pipe near the unit. Any locksmith and even some hardware stores sell these boxes. If a vendor needs access to a unit, give him access to the lockbox only. Should they lose the key, you are only out the cost of a key. Save yourself a trip and install the lockbox when you visit the property for the move out inspection. Note: The locks should be changed or re keyed after

completion of work. If your vendors need access to a unit

where on site personnel is available, the unit must be opened by your employee or provide the vendor with the unit key only, not the master.

If your main office is centralized and your portfolio is dispersed throughout a particular region with buildings under 16 units (which do not require onsite managers) appointments should be made in advance and coordinated between the vendor and the resident (keeping you in the loop). This will put the burden of entry, missed appointments, etc. on the resident and the vendor, freeing up your valuable time.

If entry is needed due to an emer-gency, you should respond to the build-ing to assess damages or necessary mitigation at the same time allow entry. Take a lock box with you and a unit key incase the repairs will be prolonged and access will be needed by others.

Never give a master key to a vendor!

Dear Maintenance Men:I have a conundrum! I am thinking of charging an automatic cleaning fee to my new residents. (Of course, after executing a fully signed disclo-sure with the new resident at the time of contract signing.) The issue has arisen because when a resident

moves, they expect their cleaning deposit to be returned if they clean the unit. However, I find I must clean again at my expense as the unit is really never clean enough. Is the automatic cleaning deposit a good idea or will the residents just leave the unit in far worst condi-tions, since they feel they have already paid for the cleaning? KellyDear Kelly:Due to the fact that individual units may differ in the size, construction, appliances, finishes amenities etc., estab-lishing a one size fits all cost or fee may hurt you in the long run. People have different ideas of what “clean” is and this is why property owners and manag-ers must set the standard of how clean the unit must be. Give the resident a description of what management consid-ers a clean unit to be and have the new resident fill out and sign a move-in inspection form as to the move-in condi-tion of the unit. When you are given a notice to vacate, inspect the unit and document the conditions. Do not dis-cuss the cost or what you will be charg-ing or deducting from the security deposit with the resident at the time of the inspection. However do let the resi-dent know what is expected when the unit is returned and supply the name of

By Jerry L'Ecuyer & Frank Alvarez

Dear Maintenance Men:


ON-SITE

Continued on page 9

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your preferred cleaning service. The rational in supplying the name of your cleaning service for your tenant’s use is that the cleaning service knows what is expected and how management wants the units cleaned. Upon move out; if the vacant unit does not meet that standard; charge the resident a cleaning fee, backed up with vendor receipts and take pic-tures of the substandard unit should the matter go to court. Keep in mind that there are always costs in turning a unit such as normal wear and tear, smoke/Co2 alarm batteries and other cost of doing business associated with being an owner or manager of an apartment building.

Dear Maintenance Men:I have rented a unit to a retired building contractor and he has offered to do work around the build-ing in exchange for a rent reduction. He says he knows what he is doing

and the arrangement will benefit both of us in the form of lower rent for him and lower apartment main-tenance costs for me. He views it as a win win for both of us. Is this a good idea?Gloria

Dear Gloria:This is a management and maintenance question all in one! Both will have the same answer and it is a firm NO! You will lose all leverage over the work since you are not directly paying for the work and you are blurring the lines between resident and landlord. Do you evict the tenant because he did a bad job install-ing a garbage disposal unit or because he is short on his rent? It would be bet-ter that your resident work for someone else and keep your maintenance and rent separate. Also, please keep in mind the liability and workman’s compensation issues that may be involved by hiring a

resident to do work at your building.

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strong rental markets, many leasing employees are faced

with the wonderful challenge of being 100% leased. Some apartments are being rented “sight unseen,” and perhaps there are only a few days in any given month where vacant apart-ments are available to look at before the new residents move in. For com-munities that have rented and done away with their model apartments, many leasing consultants are now in situations where they have nothing to show, even if they have unrented notices. The following question expresses this dilemma and the leas-ing consultant’s frustration:

Q: Our property consistently stays full and we typically rent our notices almost as soon as they come in. When people call to inquire about an apartment and I don’t have any-thing available to show, I will usually refer them to our web site or recom-mend that they call back at a later date. I don’t want to waste their time if I don’t have anything available. However, lately some callers have been pretty insistent about wanting

to come by even when I don’t have an apartment they can see. Should I really be trying to set appointments when all I can do is hand out a floor plan and give a property tour?

A: This is a challenge, and yet a unique and incredible opportunity for you to highlight and sell many other aspects of your community that you might not normally focus on during an apartment tour. EVERY caller should be extended an invita-tion to visit your community, wheth-er you have an apartment to show or not. While a web site is just one of many “sales tools” at your disposal, it is not the only tool you have. What about your property and the many community benefits you have to offer? Even if you work at a smaller community, you still have numerous benefits to sell. Perhaps it’s the loca-tion of your building and the many area conveniences, which no one will truly appreciate unless they make a visit and drive through the neighbor-hood. Maybe you have an outstand-ing maintenance staff that is highly visible that a prospective resident

would observe hard at work when visiting your community. What about your friendly residents who are out and about? The ones who smile and cheerfully say “Hello” to everyone they meet. Have you ever considered your existing residents as a “sales tool?” Then, last, but certainly not least, there is YOU!! No web site or other form of “inanimate” advertis-ing can take the place of a warm, friendly and VERY enthusiastic per-son who is excited about their prod-uct and what they are doing.

Of course it’s much “easier” to just refer someone to a web site or encourage them to check back with you when you have no apartments to show. After all, it does “appear” that you are trying to be “helpful.” What if you extended an invitation to visit instead? You would definitely have to expend some extra time and energy and get creative to sell your product in a new and exciting way without a “visual.” Perhaps your enthusiastic personality could describe and demonstrate with such animation that you could create your own “visual?”

Of course you want to be honest about your apartment availability and not get your prospects so “worked up” that you sell them on renting an apartment that is not available for their time frame. On the other hand, maybe there is some flexibility with their move date. Remember: Part of your job as a sales person is to convince the customer that what you have to offer is worth waiting for. . .

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arketing is commonly defined as the process of

communicating the value of a prod-uct or service to customers, for the purpose of selling the product or service. It is utilized universally as a critical business function for attract-ing customers. In property manage-ment it is important to acknowledge the connection between living requirements & financially viable results. What we strive for with owners and residents in this indus-try are long term relationships.

Emphasize the value of your properties and services and then position yourself so that you have a prevalent internet presence and take precedence over other companies. Utilize marketing techniques in order to effectively create, deliver and communicate your services and mission altogether. You’re aiming to achieve success as a company as well as prove the benefit to your shareholders that they initially signed up to receive.

The first step of successfully mar-keting is getting connected. Identify your target markets by asking your-self, who is your target customer? In property management with accor-dance to fair housing laws, you must find the balance between Generation

Y, professionals and retirees. Distin-guish which apartment communities attract which demographics whether it’s students, families, singles or mature adults. A marketing plan with integrity is one which addresses marketing in terms of relationships, internal functions, integrated sys-tems and socially responsive dynam-ics. Create a strong mobile presence since that is currently the number one source used to search ‘on the go’. Emphasize online payment capabilities and the simple benefit your customer basis can receive from that option.

The next step is to remain con-nected. It’s easy to drop off the deep end in this day and age when smaller, greener and better options are constantly becoming available. Continuously capture marketing insights, connect w/ customers, build strong brands and adapt your company so it tailors to market demands. Consistently deliver and communicate not only the immedi-ate value of your company’s offering but pave the way for long-term growth. Developing marketing strat-egies and plans will only solidify the compassionate corporate culture you aim to achieve. Take advantage of property management marketing

tools. There are a plethora of mar-ketplace exposure options through individual platforms which make a consistent presence easier to manage and control. Maintain a stream of multiple communication styles. The younger generations will expect more email or social media forms of communication while you definitely can’t neglect the phone calls from other generations.

Lastly, be responsive. The prob-lem with 9-5 hours is that the major-ity of people work those 9-5 hours. So communicating regarding living situations may not be feasible for a handful of people when they’re at the office focused on work-related issues. Maintain your website and hold a presence on social media sites. Keep your community up-to-date on relevant issues through com-pany newsletters or consistent blogging. Ultimately manipulate social media, and find a balance so that all generations feel acknowl-edged. Since real estate involves housing for all ages, it is very impor-tant to not neglect a certain age group. Adhere to Fair Housing by promoting housing for all and aspire for definitive equality. Increase pres-ence both on the internet and physi-cally on-site and you will achieve a

residential community who is con-tent with your efforts at the very least.

Marketing is utilized in every form of business and day-to-day interaction. Within the property management world it is simply a way to stay on top and orchestrate the many different economic factors which constantly threaten the living situations of society. Initiate a con-nection with your community, remain connected and be respon-sive; this will make the most of your marketing experience and aid in achieving the ultimate prosperity you strive for with each and every property you invest in.

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While demand for apartment homes remained strong, rising inter-est rates exerted negative pressure on the industry’s ability to secure debt financing according to the National Multi Housing Council’s (NMHC) July Quarterly Survey of Apartment Market Conditions. Only the Market Tightness Index (55) remained above the breakeven line of 50 this quarter. Sales Volume (46) and Equity Financing (49) dipped, with Debt Financing dropping sharp-ly to 20.

“Debt costs for apartment firms have been rising. In addition to the 90 basis point increase in interest rates from the April survey, spreads over Treasuries have also gone up, likely dampening transactions some-what. Rates are still low by historical standards, however, and at current levels should not put too big a crimp in apartment activity going forward,” said Mark Obrinsky, NMHC’s Senior Vice President for Research and Chief Economist. “Underlying demand trends remain strong, and we are approaching the cusp of a meaning-ful increase in supply that will hope-fully be enough to meet the current need for apartment homes.”

Key findings include:• Construction costs are rising

nationwide. More than two-thirds (68 percent) of respondents indicated that construction costs had increased by more than 5 percent since last year. Another 29 percent indicated construction costs had increased over a year ago, but by less than 5 percent. [Note: These figures exclude the 16 percent of respondents who answered “don’t know.”]

• Market Tightness Index edged up to 55 from 54. Just 14 percent noted looser conditions in the mar-kets they were familiar with. This represents the 13th time in the last 14 quarters in which the index was over 50.

• The Sales Volume Index dropped from 55 to 46. This was the second time in the last three quarters

in which the Sales Volume Index was below 50, though just by a little. Over the last eight quarters, the index has averaged 52, suggesting a small pickup in volume over that time.

• The Equity Financing Index dropped 7 points to 49. This was the first sub-50 reading in the last four years. Forty-nine percent viewed equity financing as unchanged. Twenty-one percent of respondents viewed equity financing as more available while 22 percent viewed equity financing as less available.

• Debt Financing Index dropped sharply to 20 from 59. Two-thirds (67 percent) of respondents indicated that debt financing conditions had

worsened since April, and 21 percent considered conditions unchanged. Only 8 percent of respondents thought debt financing conditions had improved – the lowest figure since October 2008.

Full survey data are available at www.nmhc.org/goto/61291.

About the survey: The July 2013 Quarterly Survey of Apartment Market Conditions was conducted July 8-July 15, 2013; 70 CEOs and other senior executives of apartment-related firms nationwide responded.

Based in Washington, D.C., NMHC is a national association representing the interests of the larger and most promi-

nent apartment firms in the U.S. NMHC’s members are the principal offi-cers of firms engaged in all aspects of the apartment industry, including owners, developers, managers and financiers. One-third of Americans rent their hous-ing, and over 14 percent live in a rental apartment. For more information, con-tact NMHC at 202/974-2300, e-mail the Council at [email protected], or visit NMHC’s web site at www.nmhc.org.

Second Quarter Apartment Markets Mixed in Latest NMHC Survey


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he Washington Multi-Family Housing Association is com-

mitted to advocating for legislation favorable to the multifamily housing industry and advancing the interests of this industry and the communities we serve. WMFHA works to build strong connections and communi-cate with stakeholders at a local, state and national level.

Our Government Affairs commit-tee members and state and local lob-byists work throughout the year to promote the interests of its members by engaging in the legislative pro-cess and educating policymakers on the issues faced by our industry.

The goals of our lobbyists are to act as a liaison between state legisla-tors and the association, working to create positive relationships with public officials, educating legislators on the needs and objectives of the housing industry, and the impor-tance of favorable legislation to the constituents served by the housing industry. Their role is also to be aware of any legal or political trends, policies, bills or ordinances which might affect the apartment industry,

and advocate support of or opposi-tion to any policies that impact our members.

The Government Affairs depart-ment of WMFHA has had a busy summer and we are continuing to work on several issues of importance to multi-family owners and opera-tors:

ELECTIONSThe Seattle primary is over and

we now know the 2 mayoral candi-dates that will move on to the gen-eral election in November. WMFHA did not endorse any candidates for the primary and the Government Affairs Committee will meet soon to decide which candidate we will endorse for the general election. Washington State held its primary election recently and initial results in the three off-year state senate races have the Republicans (including their newly appointed incumbents) leading with comfortable margins.

CARBON MONOXIDE ALARMS

Our efforts to secure an extension of the deadline for installation of car-

bon monoxide alarms through spe-cial legislation was not successful. The deadline of January 1, 2013 is in full effect and any landlords who have not yet installed CO alarms should do so immediately.

GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS ROUNDTABLE

In August our Government Affairs Director, Joe Puckett and our Olympia lobbyist, Kathryn Hedrick, attended the annual Government Affairs Roundtable and Legal Symposium where people in the multifamily industry from across the country gather to talk about legislative and regulatory issues that are appearing in various states and localities. The conference presents a great opportu-nity to learn what is happening in other parts of the country, how vari-ous associations have responded to issues and what we can expect in the near future.

SEATTLE RENTAL REGISTRATION AND INSPECTIONS ORDINANCE

Executive Director Jim Wiard, Joe Puckett and our Seattle lobbyist, Tim Hatley, have been meeting with members of the Seattle City Council and the Department of Planning and Development over the past year as DPD works on developing rules and regulations for the upcoming RRIO. Registration in Seattle of properties with 10 or more units will begin in January, 2014. Properties with 5 to 9 units will begin registration in July, 2014.

SEATTLE EX-OFFENDER PROTECTION IN EMPLOYMENT

In June, the Seattle City Council passed an ordinance that provides protection for ex-offenders in employment. The law will take effect on November 1, 2013. The Seattle Chamber of Commerce worked hard to make this ordinance one that would not impose undue restrictions on Seattle employers. We believe the


Government Affairs – Critical to Our MissionT

Executive Director • Jim Wiard President • Jay Olson Vice President • Joe Manca Past President • Cassandra Haavisto

Secretary • Gail Duke Treasurer • Brett Stevens Vice President of Suppliers Council • Barry Savage

WASHINGTON MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING ASSOCIATION

18300 Cascade Ave. S., Suite 130Tukwila, WA 98188

(425) 656-9077(425) 656 9087 (fax)

[email protected]

September 26, 2013 11:00am - 3:00pm

A Luncheon at The Seattle Sheraton

Thank you to our Platinum Sponsor

Legislative Update Joe Puckett, Director of Government Affairs - WMFHA

Featuring Keynote Speakers

Mike Scott Principal, Dupre+Scott

Matthew Gardner Principal, Gardner Economics

Member Tickets — $89 Non-Members — $109

Reserved Tables of 10 available

For Tickets and Additional Information Contact 425.656.9077

or visit us www.wmfha.org

Reception immediately following program courtesy of

This is the Property Management Industry’s leading economic forecast event. The 7th annual Washington Apartment Outlook will provide Apartment Industry Professionals, Community Leaders, Owners, Lenders, Executives and Asset Managers the latest information on economic trends in real estate from the state’s leading and most trusted experts. This information will be critical in helping your team properly forecast your business, build your budgets, and formulate winning strategies for success in 2014.

Continued on page 15

Chamber accomplished its goal and we were pleased to work hand in hand with them in achieving this result. Significantly, the ordinance provides that certain employment positions are exempt from the law. Among those that are exempt are employees that will or may have unsupervised access to children under 16 years of age or to vulnera-ble adults.

Legislative Successes Over The Years

Our organization has been able to help influence favorable outcomes to contentious issues and trends impact-ing our industry over the past sev-eral years due to the dedication of our members and the leadership of our advocacy efforts. The below are just a few of the notable accomplish-ments of our Government Affairs Department:

Worked with the State Building Code Council (SBCC) to reverse their decision to ban Christmas trees from the inside of apartment unit, and charcoal and gas grills from balco-nies in 2004.

Successful in changing the RLTA Act to clarify the number of days required to give notice to a tenant who wishes to respond to an unlaw-ful detainer action.

Storage of evicted tenant’s prop-erty – clarified that the tenant must

notify the landlord if the tenant wants their property stored.

Helped author legislation that put reasonable restrictions on the munic-ipalities who institute an inspection program – which has even had an influence in Seattle.

Worked with the SBCC in clarify-ing rules regarding the installation of carbon monoxide detectors in units.

Clarified what the owner’s respon-sibility is for tenant’s unpaid utility bills – saving owners thousands of dollars.

Some of the proposals we have successfully worked to avoid include: • Outlawing ratio utility billing sys-

tem (RUBS).• Placing caps on late fees, eliminat-

ing per day charges.• Prohibiting landlords from evict-

ing tenants who fail to pay late fees.

• Limiting landlords ability to deduct the late fee from the security deposit.

• Mandating landlords give 90-days’ notice to vacate.

• Significant and costly restriction on screening – including making reports portable, mandating who landlords can accept reports from and prohibiting screening compa-nies from reporting a filed evic-tion.

• Taxing rental income – which would obviously cost our owners greatly.

WMFHA PACThe Washington Multi-Family

Housing Association’s Political Action Committee is an essential arm of WMFHA’s government affairs program. WMFHA members con-tribute to the PAC, and the PAC in turn contributes to legislative candi-dates who are open to the apartment industry’s views on political issues crucial to your business, employees and the multi-family housing indus-try at large. The PAC supports pro-apartment state and local candidates who understand the needs and con-cerns of the multifamily industry and works to educate lawmakers on our issues. Collectively, our mem-bers have a stronger voice on legal and legislative matters when we can show that we are a large organiza-tion with a consistent, powerful mes-sage.

National RepresentationAs the Washington affiliate of the

National Apartment Association, we stay informed on issues at the nation-al level and work with NAA to share the message that the apartment industry is vibrant and critical to the growth of our nation’s economy. Earlier this year, our staff met with legislators in Washington D.C. to share information passionate to our members and propose solutions to issues of tax reform, immigration reform and housing finance reform.

The Washington Multi-Family Housing Association will continue to be a voice for the industry, to advance the professionalism and business objectives of our members, and to support our communities and those we serve. We could not do all we do without the dedication and commit-ment of our members. If you would like to partner with WMFHA and would like to get more involved in government affairs, please feel free to call us at 425-656-9077.

15On-Site Northwest • August 2013

Government ...continued from page 14

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xperian® RentBureau®, the leading provider of rental

payment history data to the multi-family industry, recently released the findings of an analysis examining the financial risk posed by residents and the most effective screening met-rics to employ to avoid lost revenue from risky residents. The analysis, Risk versus reward: identifying the highest-quality resident using rental payment history, provides unique, industry-specific insights regarding the use of rental payment data in con-junction with credit scores in screen-ing to produce a superior prediction of a resident’s propensity to default. The analysis also includes first-of-its-kind data regarding late payments, nonsufficient funds (NSF), write-offs and rental collections. Here’s a look at the top seven takeaways from the analysis that offer multifamily own-ers and property managers a look into the best applications of resident payment history data:

1. Complement traditional credit scoring: The use of rental payment data in conjunction with credit scores

in the screening process produces a superior prediction of a resident’s propensity to default. To improve rent default rates and better assess an applicant’s risk, owners and proper-ty managers are best served by utiliz-ing rental payment data along with credit scores. Renters with the high-est credit scores show much lower rates of default. However, within that population, those with negative rent-al history are more than four times as likely to default as those with posi-tive rental history.

2. Realize better risk manage-ment: Renters, as measured by credit scores, are a higher-risk group than the U.S. population overall. Eighty-five percent of the renters in the sam-ple set are in one of the three lowest VantageScore® credit ranges (501 to 799), compared with a national aver-age of only 64 percent.

3. Gain insight into propensity to default: How an individual paid rent in the past is a good indicator of how he or she will pay rent in the future. Renters with one prior rental debt

have a default rate nearly four times higher than applicants with positive rental history.

4. Avoid balances owed: Rental payment history data allows for the identification of residents who re-peatedly move out of communities owing money. These individuals are nearly six times as likely to repeat this behavior compared with a resi-dent who has consistently paid rent on time.

5. Spot serial skippers: By identi-fying prospects with multiple nega-tive prior rental payments, owners and property managers can avoid renting to individuals who likely are serial skippers and have a 35 percent chance of defaulting again.

6. Minimize late and NSF pay-ments: Default among residents who have a history of late or NSF pay-ments escalates steadily as the num-ber of late or NSF payments increas-es. Renters with three or more late or NSF payments have a default rate more than twice as high as renters

with only two or fewer late or NSF payments.

7. Achieve higher occupancies: Augmenting the lack of a credit score with rental history data can help own-ers and property managers improve occupancy while also managing risk. Unscoreable individuals with posi-tive rental history have lower overall default rates and could make strong renters for managers looking to in-crease occupancy.

To learn more about how rental pay-ment history can help your portfolio pro-tect NOI, reduce skips and evictions, and identify the highest-quality residents, download a complimentary copy of Risk versus reward: identifying the highest-quality resident using rental payment history, an analysis of the most effective screening metrics to employ to avoid lost revenues from risky residents.

VantageScore® is a registered trade-mark of VantageScore Solutions, LLC.

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Picture this…Captain Craig has invited you to spend a month sail-ing the Caribbean with all the lobster you can eat! Your captain has only one rule—“no telephone calls, no E-mail, no texts”. Will your proper-ties run smoothly while you’re gone? Will your residents be well served in your absence? The information in this article, when put into practice, will reduce your stress, increase your business success, and give you the freedom (and vacation!) you so rich-ly deserve.

Building a winning team: Trust each employee to do their job and be sure each team member feels they are a valuable part of your property management team. Set the example for positive interaction between members of your team at all times, even when ideas or performance must be corrected. Conversely, if you have current employees who are not performing well, consider whether they are a wise investment as your property management company is only as good as each individual’s contribution.

Tip From The Coach: Hire wisely when building your

leasing and management team and never compromise your standards. Look for the three I’s: intelligence, initiative, and integrity when inter-viewing for each position, and only hire those who perfectly match [to learn more about pre-hire employee testing send an E-mail to [email protected]] the profile of your property management company. When you find Superstar employees, reward them financially and make sure their pay is at market level or above. Lastly, take time to acknowl-edge each team member’s contribu-tion, as the biggest loyalty builder is two simple words--thank you.

Working with your team: Know each team member’s job re-

sponsibilities and master them. This gives you a reserve employee and trainer (yourself), but has an added bonus. If you show your leasing staff and property supervisors you are willing to learn or have learned his/her job, you are communicating you believe their work has value. Every

team member needs to know when they are emptying trash cans, mak-ing collection calls, or speaking with an unhappy resident, their work is worthwhile and significant.

Tip From The Coach: Establish a training schedule so

each person on your team can learn to do at least two jobs, particularly with your computer software systems and for key resident services. For critical tasks, at least three people should know how to do each job. Once this training is finished, you will always have an on-site expert who can step in when needed.

Giving your best and encouraging the same:

Pride in your property manage-ment company and its services al-ways begins at the top and your leas-ing team and property supervisors will mirror your exact views and expectations. If you set an example of making the extra effort, pitching in when needed, caring about your team members, working as a unit to be the best in the property manage-

ment business, and taking care of the bottom line, your property manage-ment team will follow suit.

Tip From The Coach: Wherever possible, give your

employees a stake in the future. Try scheduling a short monthly meeting and ask your team to make sugges-tions on how to improve their leas-ing product/services, their resident services, their property efficiencies, and your bottom line. Give mon-etary rewards when employee ideas produce increases to your profits and give positive encouragement for the process. Lastly, have fun along the way…a good laugh soothes even the toughest of days. Captain Craig, says “ready to set sail?”

Want to hear more about this im-portant topic or ask some additional questions? Send an E-mail to [email protected] and The Coach will E-mail back to you a free invitation to be a participant on a PowerHour conference call. On this call we will discuss the tips from this article.

Property Management Success, While Maintaining Your Sanity! ©

By Ernest F. Oriente, The Coach


As a broker or property manager, obtaining the Green Broker certi fi ca-ti on will help you to identi fy and discuss essenti al issues related to green features of real estate you manage, provide advice and counsel on the benefi ts of building and managing Green. The program off ers 30 hours of conti nuing educati on credit for real estate licensees, and all graduates have the right to display the certi fi cati on on their business cards and mar-keti ng materials.

Already LEED Certi fi ed? The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has approved the technical and instructi onal quality of this course for 30 GBCI CE Hours towards the LEED Credenti al Maintenance Program.

Interested in more informati on? Visit www.greenbrokereducaton.com.

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Author’s note: Ernest F. Oriente, a business coach since 1995 [30,500 hours], a property management industry professional since 1988--the author of SmartMatch Alliances--and the founder of PowerHour...[ www.powerhour.com and www.powerhourseo.com and www.pirmg.com and www.powerhourlead-ershipacademy.com ], has a passion for coaching his clients on executive lead-ership, hiring and motivating property management SuperStars, traditional and Internet SEO/SEM marketing, competi-tive sales strategies, and high leverage al-liances for property management teams and their leaders. He provides private and group coaching for property manage-ment companies around North America, executive recruiting, investment bank-ing, national utility bill auditing [ www.powerhour.com/propertymanagement/utilitybillaudit.html ] national real es-tate and apartment building insurance [ www.powerhour.com/propertyman-agement/insurance.html ], SEO/SEM web strategies, national WiFi solutions [ www.powerhour.com/propertyman-agement/nationalwifi.html ], powerful tools for hiring property management SuperStars and building dynamic teams,

employee policy manuals [ http://www.powerhour.com/propertymanagement/employeepolicymanuals.html ] and so-cial media strategic solutions [ http://www.powerhour.com/propertymanage-ment/socialmedialeadership.html ]. Er-nest worked for Motorola, Primedia and is certified in the Xerox sales methodolo-gies. Recent interviews and articles have appeared more than 7000 times in busi-ness and trade publications and in a wide variety of leading magazines and news-papers, including Smart Money, Inc., Business 2.0, The New York Times, Fast Company, The LA Times, Fortune, Busi-ness Week, Self Employed America and The Financial Times. Since 1995, Ernest has written 200+ articles for the property management industry and created 350+ property management forms, business and marketing checklists, sales letters and presentation tools. To subscribe to his free property management newslet-ter go to: www.powerhour.com. Power-Hour® is based in Olympic-town…Park City, Utah, at 435-615-8486, by E-mail [email protected] or visit their website: www.powerhour.com


Property ...continued from page 18

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U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan recently announced the award of $2,903,449 to support 31 new homeless housing and service projects of Continuums of Care in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington state.

Alaska was awarded $ $166,038 to support five new projects, Idaho was awarded $57,446 to support three projects, Oregon was awarded $371,275 to support seven projects and Washington state was awarded $2,308,690 to support 16 projects. For more details, visit http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/documents/huddoc?id=12_new_grants_12.pdf

Recently’s HUD Continuum of Care awards are in addition to the $89.1 million that HUD allocated

earlier this year to renew support for 406 existing homeless projects in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington state and were part of some $52 million awarded recently to some 200 new projects across the country as well as nearly 200 grants to assist with local strategic planning activities. This year, HUD challenged local communities to reexamine their response to homelessness and give greater weight to proven strategies, from providing ‘rapid re-housing’ for homeless families to permanent supportive housing for those experi-encing chronic homelessness. The new projects were largely the result of local strategic decisions that result-ed in the reallocation of funds from existing renewal projects that were deemed by a local Continuum of

Care no longer critically needed in favor of creating new programs to help the community achieve the goal of ending homelessness.

“Recently’s grantees will join the thousands of local programs that are on the front lines ending homeless-ness across the nation,” said Donovan. “As we continue to see a decline in homelessness, investing in programs that are moving homeless families and individuals to permanent hous-ing is as critical as ever because it’s not only the right thing to do, but it’s smart government and fiscally pru-dent.”

The $52 million in grants announced recently support a wide range of new programs, including projects to create and implement sys-tems to make the use of homeless

services more efficient and more than 1,600 new permanent supportive housing beds for chronically home-less persons. The new projects were largely the result of local strategic decisions that resulted in the reallo-cation of funds from existing renewal projects that were no longer critically needed in favor of creating new pro-grams to help the community achieve the goal of ending homelessness. Earlier this year, HUD awarded more than $1.5 billion in the first two rounds of grant funding to renew support for more than 7,500 local programs. View a complete list of all the state and local homeless projects awarded funding.

Continuums of Care grants are awarded competitively to local proj-

HUD Provides $2.9 Million to Support 31 New Projects Serving The Homeless in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon & Washington

Recently’s awards are in addition to $89 million HUD allocated earlier this year to renew support for 406 existing homeless projects in the Northwest



HUD ...continued from page 20

ON-SITE

ects to meet the needs of their home-less clients. The grants fund a wide variety of programs from street out-reach and assessment to transitional and permanent housing for home-less persons and families. HUD funds are a critical part of the Obama Administration’s strategic plan to prevent and end homelessness. Additionally, new grants awarded in FY2012 included—for the first time ever—$11 million in funds for planning activities that will assist Continuums of Care fulfill their responsibilities under the Continuum of Care Program interim rule.

According to the 2012 “point in time” estimate of the number of homeless persons in America, there were 633,782 homeless persons on a single night in January of 2012, largely unchanged from the year before. While HUD found signifi-cant declines among the long-term homeless and veterans, local com-munities reported an increase in the number of sheltered and unsheltered families with children.

HUD’s Continuum of Care grants announced recently will offer new permanent supportive housing and rapid re-housing to homeless per-sons as well as link them to services including job training, health care, mental health counseling, substance abuse treatment and child care.

In 2010, President Obama and 19 federal agencies and offices that form the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) launched the nation’s first comprehensive strategy to prevent and end home-lessness. Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness puts the country on a path to end veterans and chronic homelessness by 2015 and to ending homelessness among children, fam-ily, and youth by 2020.

HUD’s mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. HUD is working to strengthen the housing mar-ket to bolster the economy and protect consumers; meet the need for quality affordable rental homes: utilize housing as a platform for improving quality of life; build inclusive and sustainable com-munities free from discrimination; and transform the way HUD does business. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.govandhttp://espanol.hud.gov. You can also follow HUD on twit-ter @HUDnews, on facebook atwww.facebook.com/HUD, or sign up for news alerts on HUD’s News Listserv. Commercial and Residential

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A total of 247 metropolitan areas across 49 states and the District of Columbia qualified for inclusion on the National Association of Home Builders/First American Improving Markets Index (IMI) for August, released today. While this is eight metros shy of the number listed on the IMI in July, it is approximately three times the number of metros that qualified for the list in August of 2012.

The IMI identifies metropolitan areas that have shown improvement from their respective troughs in housing permits, employment and house prices for at least six consecu-

tive months. Three new markets were added to the list and 11 dropped from it in August. Newly added met-ros this month include Kankakee, Ill., along with Atlantic City and Ocean City, N.J.

“In all, 244 metros that were listed as improving in July retained that status in August, and this is an encouraging sign of the continuing housing recovery,” noted NAHB Chairman Rick Judson, a home builder from Charlotte, N.C. “That said, we know that the pace of improvement is being hampered somewhat by challenges that build-ers and buyers are experiencing with

regard to the availability of credit, materials, lots for development and labor.”

“While the number of improving housing markets this August remains well ahead of the same month last year, the index is affected by seasonal softening in home prices just as we saw happen in 2012. The metros that fell off the list this month originally qualified with very small home price improvements that have since slipped back,” explained NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. “As house prices return to more normal levels in fully recovered markets, further IMI advancements will be more modest.”

“Even with the small decline in the IMI this month, close to 70 per-cent of all U.S. metros are represent-ed, and the geographic distribution of entrants continues to be very widespread,” said Kurt Pfotenhauer, vice chairman of First American Title Insurance Company. “These facts should be reassuring to today’s pro-spective home buyers.”

The IMI is designed to track hous-ing markets throughout the country that are showing signs of improving economic health. The index mea-

sures three sets of independent monthly data to get a mark on the top Metropolitan Statistical Areas. The three indicators that are ana-lyzed are employment growth from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, house price appreciation from Freddie Mac and single-family housing permit growth from the U.S. Census Bureau. NAHB uses the latest available data from these sources to generate a list of improving markets. A metro area must see improvement in all three measures for at least six consecutive months following those measures’ respective troughs before being included on the improving markets list.

A complete list of all 247 metros cur-rently on the IMI, and separate break-outs of metros newly added to or dropped from the list in August, is available at www.nahb.org/imi.


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