Leverage Is Swinging In Favor of Apartment Renters.

"Apartment-rent growth is declining rapidly, shifting the rental market to the tenant's favor for the first time in years.

The average of six national rental-price measures from rental-listing and property data companies shows new-lease asking rents rose just under 2% over the 12 months ended in May.

That is down from the double-digit increases of a year earlier and represents the largest deceleration over any year in recent history, according to data firm CoStar Group andrental software company RealPage.

An annual decline would offer relief for millions of renters who have had to contend with rents that rose 25% nationally over less than two years.

With housing costs as the biggest component of the consumer-price index, a decline in rents also would help ease inflation.

A yearlong drop in rent would be a potential problem for the many investors who took out large loans to buy buildings where they thought they would be able to keep raising rents. They are facing a softer market, falling property values and interest rates that have roughly doubled from early last year.

One of the rent measures, from real-estate brokerage Redfin, already shows asking rents turning negative with a decline of 0.6% in May compared with the same month last year. The data includes both apartments and single-family rental homes, Redfin said.

A decline in asking rent over a 12-month period has happened only one other time since the 2008 financial crisis, according to some data sources, when the rental market briefly dipped in 2020 because of the outbreak of Covid-19, ending a decadelong streak of rent increases.

The U.S. rental market is slowing down after an unprecedented run. In some markets, such as Miami and Riverside, Calif., monthly rents are up 35% or more over the past three years. But the high prices started to weaken demand from renters in the second half of 2022, many of whom were pushed to their financial limits by higher rents. Some are moving back in with parents, taking on roommates or relocating to cheaper cities.

A historic number of new apartments under construction also is forcing more competition among landlords. That will help slow down rents in some parts of the country, such as the South and Southwest, which are seeing the most construction, housing analysts said.

"There's certainly a correction taking place," said Rob Warnock, a researcher at rental website Apartment List. Apartment List reported rents rose by less than 1 percentage point for the year that ended in May.

A fall in rents would follow recent price declines in the housing market. The national median existing-home price fell 1.7% in April from a year earlier, the biggest year-over-year price decline in more than 11 years.

Relatively high renewal increases are one reason why rent, as captured by official inflation measures, is still shown to be rising at a higher-than-normal rate. The shelter component of the consumer-price index rose 0.4% in April to reach an 8.1% annual increase in April.

But new-lease rents, which measure the change in price for apartments available to be leased to new tenants, are considered more of a leading indicator. As new-lease rent prices cool, landlords also are expected to keep dropping how much they ask their existing tenants to pay, said Jay Parsons, chief economist at RealPage.

Property owners who don't lower renewal rates risk watching too many of their tenants move out, driving up vacancies, which already increased 2.6 percentage points over the course of 2022.

"There's effectively a cap on how much rents can rise on renewal in today's market," Parsons said.

The increases tenants pay to renew existing leases also are going down this year. The typical renter living in a professionally managed apartment building paid 6.5% more to renew their lease in May, according to RealPage. That figure has been falling for 10 months and is down from a peak rate of 11%.

The dynamic is starting to shift bargaining power to tenants in some hot rental markets, after years during which owners had leverage. David Frey and his wife, Lexi, started thinking about moving out of their Jersey City, N.J., apartment when they received notice of a 12% rent increase at the end of February. They felt that was too high based on what they were already paying. The property manager declined to negotiate, Frey said, so the couple signed a lease for a new apartment that was bigger and cheaper.

The company posted their former unit for lease online, listing a rental price below what they were offered, said Frey.

Some investors who bought apartment buildings with plans to raise rents face a quickly changing reality, especially in the Southwest. In many of the cities where investors flocked, such as Phoenix and Las Vegas, new lease rents are already running well into the red this year, according to some measures.

Multifamily building values are falling in tandem. The price per-unit to buy apartment buildings in Phoenix fell about 12% in the first quarter of 2023, according to data provider MSCI Real Assets.

Overall, 48 of the 100 largest U.S. cities are posting negative rent growth for new leases, measured on an annual basis, according to Apartment List." [1]

1. Leverage Is Swinging In Favor of Apartment Renters. Parker, Will. 
Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 14 June 2023: B.1.

 

Darbo entuziazmas blanksta, augant nusivylimui

    „Vis daugiau amerikiečių nesijaučia puikiai darbe.

 

     Remiantis antradienį paskelbtu „Gallup“ tyrimu, pusė darbuotojų nedirba visa jėga ir deda minimalias pastangas, kad išgyventų. Darbuotojų įsitraukimas, įsitraukimo ir entuziazmo darbe matas, JAV mažėjo antrus metus iš eilės. Taip pat didėja darbo jėgos dalis, kuri yra atsiribojusi nuo darbo arba piktinasi, kad jų poreikiai nepatenkinami. Kai kuriais atvejais šie darbuotojai yra nepatenkinti dėl mažo atlyginimo ir ilgų darbo valandų arba prarado pasitikėjimą jų darbdaviais.

 

     „Darbdaviai tiesiog ne taip bendrauja su darbuotojais“, – sakė Jimas Harteris, „Gallup“ vyriausiasis darbo vietos mokslininkas ir pagrindinis ataskaitos autorius. Kai kurie pastarojo meto požiūrio pokyčiai kyla dėl to, kad darbuotojai turi neaiškių lūkesčių iš savo vadovų.

 

     Darbuotojų nusivylimas auga nuo 2021 m., kai „Gallup“ išmatuotas JAV darbuotojų įsitraukimo lygis pasiekė aukščiausią lygį 2020 m.

 

     2020 m. pavasarį ir vasarą, plintant Covid-19 ir kilus socialiniams neramumams po George'o Floydo nužudymo, daugelio įmonių vadovai rengdavo rotušės tipo susirinkimus ir klausydavo darbuotojų, bendraudavo apie organizacijos misiją ir palaikė tvirtus santykius darbo vietoje.

 

     Šiais metais daugiau įmonių bando sugrąžinti darbuotojus į biurus, nes viršininkai nerimauja dėl darbuotojų produktyvumo ir lojalumo.

 

     „Gallup“ apklausė daugiau, nei 60 000 žmonių JAV, kad sudarytų ataskaitą, kurioje nuo 2000 m. buvo stebimas amerikiečių požiūris į jų darbą ir teigiama, kad įsitraukę darbuotojai yra produktyvesni ir linkę ilgiau dirbti toje vietoje.

 

     Daugiau, nei pusė, JAV respondentų – 57 % – „Gallup“ teigė manantys, kad geras laikas susirasti darbą. Konferencijų valdyba lapkritį atliktoje apklausoje nustatė, kad tarp laimingiausių šalies darbuotojų yra tie, kurie pandemijos metu savo noru pakeitė darbą, ir tie, kurie gali dirbti namuose bent ne visą darbo dieną. Konferencijos valdyba nustatė, kad pastaraisiais metais darbuotojų laimė pagerėjo, kai daugelio žmonių atlyginimai padidėjo ir jie perėjo į tinkamas pareigas.

 

     „Gallup“ išvados pateikiamos atsitrenkus į darbuotojus, kurių daugelis pastaruoju metu suaktyvino protestus prieš biuro reikalavimus, įmonėms keičiant pandemijos eros politiką.

 

     Draudimo bendrovės „Farmers Group“ darbuotojai pakvietė burtis į profesines sąjungas, o kai kurie įsipareigojo pasitraukti po to, kai naujasis generalinis direktorius pasakė, kad dauguma darbuotojų reikalaus, kad biure būtų tris dienas per savaitę.

 

     Harteris sakė, kad darbuotojo santykiai su tiesioginiu viršininku yra svarbesni įsitraukimui, nei vieta, kur žmonės dirba. Vienas iš būdų užmegzti šiuos ryšius – vadovai turi prasmingus pokalbius su savo darbuotojais, pageidautina bent kartą per savaitę.

 

     Daugelis darbuotojų mano, kad pamainos nuo lankstaus grafiko ir nuotolinio darbo galimybių yra signalas, kad vadovai nepasitiki, kad jie atliks savo darbą ne biure.

 

     Kiti teigia, kad nuotolinio darbo privalumai, kuriuos jie patyrė pandemijos metu, įskaitant daugiau laiko su šeima ir kelionių į darbą ir atgal sumažinimą, dabar yra labai svarbūs jų laimei.

 

     Remiantis „Gallup“ apklausa, darbuotojai taip pat teigė, kad šiemet buvo labiau įtempti nei praėjusiais metais. Amerikos darbuotojai yra vieni labiausiai streso patiriančių darbuotojų, siejami su Kanados ir kai kurių Rytų Azijos šalių darbuotojais.

 

     Remiantis JAV generalinio chirurgo spalio mėnesio ataskaitomis, darbo vietoje stresą sukeliantys veiksniai yra maži atlyginimai, ilgos darbo valandos ir galimybių tobulėti stoka.

 

     Michele Spilberg Hart, kuri vadovauja Bostono rajono sveikatos ne pelno organizacijos rinkodarai, sakė, kad ji liepė savo darbuotojams pailsėti, kai jie nesijaučia gerai psichiškai ar fiziškai. Jų darbas nėra gyvybė ar mirtis, o pertraukos gali padėti žmonėms grįžti su daugiau energijos ir geresnių idėjų, sakė ji.

 

     „Jie negali dirbti gero darbo ir būti sveiki, jei pirmiausia nepasirūpina savimi“, – sakė ji. „Jei tu nepasirūpinsi savimi, niekas kitas tuo nepasirūpins.“ [1]

 

1. Job Enthusiasm Dims As Frustrations Grow. Ellis, Lindsay. 
Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 14 June 2023: A.13.

Job Enthusiasm Dims As Frustrations Grow.

"More and more Americans aren't feeling great at work.

Half of workers aren't engaged on the job, putting in minimal effort to get by, according to research by Gallup released Tuesday. Employee engagement, a measure of involvement and enthusiasm at work, in the U.S. declined for the second year in a row. There is also a growing share of the workforce that is disengaged, or resentful that their needs aren't being met. In some cases, these workers are disgruntled over low pay and long hours, or they have lost trust in their employers.

"Employers are just not as in touch with employees," said Jim Harter, chief workplace scientist at Gallup and lead author on the report. Some of the recent shift in attitude stems from workers having unclear expectations from their managers.

Workers' frustrations have been building since 2021, after Gallup-measured U.S. worker-engagement levels hit their highest level in 2020.

In the spring and summer of 2020, as Covid-19 spread and there was social unrest after George Floyd's murder, executives at many companies had town halls and listening sessions with employees, communicating organizational mission and keeping workplace relationships strong.

This year, more companies are trying to bring workers back to offices as bosses fret about worker productivity and loyalty.

Gallup surveyed more than 60,000 people in the U.S. to compile the report, which has tracked Americans' sentiment about their jobs since 2000, and says engaged workers are more productive and tend to stay at their jobs for longer.

More than half of U.S. respondents -- 57% -- told Gallup that they thought it was a good time to find a job. The Conference Board found in a November survey that among the nation's happiest workers are those who voluntarily switched jobs during the pandemic and those who can work from home at least part-time. Workers' happiness has improved in recent years because many people's salaries increased, and they moved into positions that were a better fit, the Conference Board found.

Gallup's findings come amid a backlash from workers, many of whom have recently stepped up protests against in-office requirements as companies change pandemic-era policies.

Workers at insurer Farmers Group called to unionize and some pledged to quit after a new chief executive said he would require most workers to be in the office three days a week.

An employee's relationship with a direct boss is more important to engagement than where people work, said Harter. One way to build these connections is for managers to have meaningful conversations with their employees, preferably at least once a week.

Many employees see shifts away from flexible schedules and remote work options as a signal that executives don't trust them to do their jobs outside of the office.

Others say benefits to remote work they experienced during the pandemic, including more time with family and cutting back commutes, are now critical to their happiness.

Workers also said they were more stressed this year than last, according to Gallup's survey. American workers are among the most stressed, tied with workers in Canada and parts of East Asia.

Workplace stressors include low salaries, long hours and a lack of opportunity for advancement, according to an October report from the U.S. Surgeon General.

Michele Spilberg Hart, who directs marketing for a Boston-area health nonprofit, said that she has told her staff to take time off when they aren't feeling well mentally or physically. Their work isn't life-or-death, and taking breaks can help people come back with more energy and better ideas, she said.

"They cannot do good work and be healthy if they're not taking care of themselves first," she said. "If you don't take care of yourself, nobody else will."" [1]

1. Job Enthusiasm Dims As Frustrations Grow. Ellis, Lindsay. 
Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 14 June 2023: A.13.

Rusiški autonominiai sunkvežimiai išvažiuoja į greitkelį

„Birželio 14 d., trečiadienį, greitkelyje Maskva–Peterburgas pasirodys „KamAZ“ autonominių sunkvežimių kolona. Jie gabens prekes iš Sankt Peterburgo į Maskvą. Pareigūnai ramina, kad kiekvieno sunkvežimio salone (bet ne už vairo) bus vairuotojas.

Rusijos susisiekimo ministerija paskelbė, kad nepilotuojami KamAZ bus paleisti birželio 14 dieną palei greitkelį M-11 Neva. „Įgyvendinant projektą „Nepilotuojami logistikos koridoriai“, birželio 14 d. nepilotuojami sunkvežimiai „KamAZ“ gabens komercinius krovinius iš Sankt Peterburgo į Maskvą. Projekte dalyvauja didžiausi Rusijos vežėjai: PEK, Globaltruck, Gazprom-neft Snabzenhe.

„Apple“ ir „Google“ ruošiasi veiksmams automobilių sektoriuje. Nors paieškos sistemų specialistas jau pristatė savarankiškai vairuojantį automobilį, „iPhone“ kompanija pasamdė vieną aukščiausių „Mercedes“ vadovų.

Nepilotuojamo krovinių pristatymo plėtra Rusijoje yra dalis vadinamųjų eksperimentinis teisinis režimas. Jame rašoma, kad magistralėje M-11 leidžiama eksploatuoti nepilotuojamas transporto priemones, kurios buvo patikrintos valstybės įmonės „Nami“ laboratorijoje, ar jos atitinka saugos reikalavimus ir kurias Rusijos vidaus reikalų ministerija užregistravo, kaip nepilotuojamas. Kol kas visus kriterijus atitinka tik „KamAZ“ automobiliai. Rusijos pareigūnai tikina, kad netrukus kelyje turėtų pasirodyti ir kito šalies kūrėjo „Sbierawtotech“, kurio įrangą taip pat sertifikavo „Nami“, bepilotės transporto priemonės. Panašių transporto priemonių kūrimu užsiima nemažai kitų sertifikavimo dar neišlaikiusių įmonių, tikina Rusijos valdžia.

Kremlius tikina, kad rems Rusijos įmones, kurios kuria tokias technologijas „nenaudodamas biudžeto lėšų“. Kaip ši parama atrodytų, jei ne valstybės pinigais – Rusijos pareigūnai neaiškina. „Kommersant“ primena, kad anksčiau valdžia pranešė, kad kol kas kalbama apie vadinamųjų ketvirto autonomijos lygio sunkvežimius: vairuotojas bus automobilio salone. Šiuo metu KamAZ jau pagamino du nepilotuojamus sunkvežimius: KamAZ-54901 ir KamAZ-54907. Jie buvo išbandyti 2022 m. gruodžio pabaigoje."