The COVID-19 pandemic and its consequent unemployment have put stress on renters and apartment properties in the United States, the National Association of Realtors Research Group noted in its February 2021 “Commercial Market Insights” report, released March 1.
“The ability of renters to pay rent remains a concern, especially for small landlords,” the report said. The latest Household Pulse Survey of the U.S. Census Bureau showed that 18% of renters are not caught up on rent, the report said. In Arkansas, the rate was 10.4%.
“The states with the highest fraction of renters not caught up on rent are Delaware (32%), New York (30%), Florida (25%) and Louisiana (24%),” the report said.
The report said that 60% of the 5.13 million renter households that are not caught up on rent live in one- to four-unit apartments. It noted that 73% of those smaller apartment properties are owned or managed by individual investors, according to the 2018 Rental Housing Finance Survey.
