The start of 2021 kicked-off with optimism in the market as the vaccine begins distribution across the nation. The National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) has published Rent Payment Trackers consistently throughout the pandemic, providing statistics on rent payments. For the week ending in February 6th, 79.2 percent of apartment households submitted payment, a 1.9 percentage decrease, or 216,479 less households, compared to a year ago, and a 2.6 increase from January 6th, 2021.
As the nation reaches the year mark of the pandemic, NMHC President Doug Bibby is encouraged by the $25 billion in rental assistance, extended unemployment benefits, and direct payments that comes from the COVID relief package that passed at the end of 2020. However, additional relief is still necessary as demonstrated as the estimated lost rent for 2020 ranges from $27 billion to $60 billion.
