Rents decreased $1 to $1,420 in October 2018, a second straight month of decline. The 3.3% year-over-year rent growth for the month was unchanged from September, according to a survey of 127 markets from Yardi Matrix.

The overall slowdown follows an anticipated seasonal trend.

Rent gains have accelerated in warm-weather markets such as Las Vegas, Phoenix and Atlanta. According to the report, the strength of the national market is demonstrated by the fact that rent growth is less than 2% in only a handful of metros, and the lowest is Houston at 1.6%. No market is even remotely in trouble," the report says. "The market's groove will be hard to knock off course as long as employment and wage growth maintain their current path.

In fact, several metros have had recent rent decreases concentrated in the high-end segment. Boston (-0.7%), Seattle and San Jose (-0.6%), Chicago (-0.5%). Moreover, Portland and Washington, D.C. (-0.4%) experienced decreases in Lifestyle rents on a trailing-three-month basis. Those losses can be primarily attributed to an increase in deliveries of luxury units.

The strong gains are led by Southwest markets Las Vegas and Phoenix, both of which have seen strong acceleration since the beginning of the year. Las Vegas leads U.S. metros with 7.4% year over-year growth through October, up from 5.8% in January. Phoenix rose to 7.0% in October from 4.0% in January

Both markets benefit from their long-term population shifts and healthy job growth. Affordability and effects of 2017 tax reform have positioned Las Vegas to benefit from the outmigration of people and businesses from California and other high-cost regions. Phoenix is attractive due to its weather, while its economy increasingly attracting a diverse set of businesses.

Year-over-year rent growth leaders for October were Las Vegas, Phoenix, Orlando, Fla., and the Inland Empire and San Jose metros in California.

Hunt Real Estate Capital has provided a conventional Freddie Mac multifamily loan in the amount of $14.9 million to refinance a multifamily property in Hayward, Cal.

Paraiso Apartments is a 63-unit, garden-style apartment complex comprised of four, two-story residential buildings. All of the units are two-bedroom and two-bathroom apartments. The property was built in 1962 and has been well maintained by the owner.

The loan features a 10-year fixed rate term and 30-year amortization schedule. Christopher Anderson is the property's owner and manager.

"Chris has owned Paraiso Apartments for over 15 years and has very solid multifamily experience, having purchased, renovated and managed over 50 properties in the past 20+ years," commented Colin Cross, Director at Hunt Real Estate Capital. "Over the past 2.5 years Chris has spent over $130,000 on property renovations, and he plans to invest more than $1 million after the refinance to continue to upgrade the property."

Earlier upgrades include renovated kitchen appliances, kitchen facades, flooring, laundry rooms, HVAC, parking and exterior maintenance. The next phase of renovations includes new kitchen appliances, balconies/sliding doors, parking, and other unit interior upgrades.

"We were pleased to provide the Freddie Mac financing for this quality owner. It was a very volatile time in the debt markets, however with Freddie holding the interest rate spread during loan processing the borrower could rest easy that his loan execution would close as expected. A great deal all around," added Cross.

Walker & Dunlop Inc. provided a $74,746,000 Fannie Mae loan for the refinancing of Fairways Country Club, an Orlando-based five-star manufactured housing community for seniors aged 55 and above.

Walker & Dunlop's Will Baker, William Shell and Doug McDaniel led the team in arranging a 10-year, fixed-rate loan for their longstanding client, Hometown America LLC. Drawing on their deep understanding of Fannie Mae's programs, they leveraged the enterprise’s Fannie Mae's Streamlined Rate Lock option to lock the rate shortly after receiving the application and close within 23 days.

[caption id="attachment_7685" align="alignleft" width="150"] Fairways of Orlando[/caption]

In addition to its top-notch amenities, the property has a strong operating history, with occupancy levels above 97.2 percent since 2008. The senior housing community has experienced rent growth of at least 3.5 percent annually, and it is positioned in an area where demographics continue to strengthen demand for high-quality MHC properties.

"Will Baker and the Walker & Dunlop team have been a trusted partner of Hometown America for more than 10 years due to their strong relationship with Fannie and Freddie and their expertise in the MHC asset class," said Doug Minahan, vice president of Hometown America. "Similar to our experience when they refinanced the existing loan on Fairways Country Club in 2008, Will and his team once again delivered terms as promised in an expedited fashion, going from signed application to closing in less than 30 days."

"Manufactured housing communities are consistently some of the best performing assets in our portfolio, and Fairways is no exception," said Mr. Baker.