A report from Nasdaq. "The struggle to lure renters is feared to continue into the near term as supply volumes are likely to remain aggressive. In fact, per the study by RealPage, in the past six months, demand could not keep up with new product deliveries that aggregated 127,121 market-rate units in fourth-quarter 2018 and first-quarter 2019. Also, the study pointed out that market-rate apartment properties which are under construction have more than 403,000 units which will be completed over the next 18 months."

"Specifically, supply of luxury/high-end properties is anticipated to be high in some markets during the prime leasing period, propelling competition in turn. Elevated supply volumes generally curb residential landlords' ability to command more rents, and affect occupancy and concession levels. These apart, the student housing sector, which is part of the residential REIT industry, has been witnessing a slowdown in leasing velocity and compression in rent growth, amid demand-supply imbalances and intensifying competition. Specifically, properties away from campus are feeling the brunt."

From Westword in Colorado. "High-income renters who make more than $100,000 per year represent one of the fastest-growing segments of today's rental market, and nowhere in the country has this phenomenon been more strongly felt than Denver. But down the road, the trend may be bad news for renters without such fat wallets."

"'I don't know that you're seeing a whole lot of affordable rental places being built,' says Scott Grossman, who's both a major player for Madison & Co. Properties and a past boardmember of the Denver Metro Association of Realtors. 'Everybody wants to get in on the game when they can, and if they can make more on upper-end product, they do. You're seeing that on the purchase and rent end of things.'"

The News Journal in Florida. "When Eastwind Development officials visit Daytona Beach to check on the construction of their Tomoka Pointe Apartments, they can’t help but notice the growing number of competing projects underway in the area. All have one thing in common: they are being touted as luxury apartments with 'resort-style' amenities."

"That’s no accident. With the rising costs of construction materials and labor, 'You can’t build affordable housing these days. The numbers don’t make sense so you’ve got to build luxury apartments,' said Ty Lohman, an Ormond Beach investor in apartment properties throughout North-Central Florida."

"However, with the average annual median wage for the Volusia-Flagler area well below statewide and national levels, affordable housing advocate Pedro Dash, co-chair of the local interfaith-based nonprofit group F.A.I.T.H., wonders how many here can afford those luxury apartments. 'There are jobs being created but most are service industry lower-paying jobs,' Dash said. 'If they’re only earning $10 an hour, to afford one of these luxury apartments, they’d have to work 72 to 75 hours, close to half their monthly pay.'"

"So who are these luxury apartments for? At Icon, 'First and foremost the local community,' including empty nesters and those who would like the 'lifestyle' amenities offered not only at the apartment complex itself but also the International Speedway Boulevard, said Dorothy Palmer, property manager. 'We want to appeal to national and international race fans,' thanks to Icon’s close proximity to the Speedway, she said."

"'It is on the high-end for Daytona, but some of our competitors are pushing $1,700 (a month) for three-bedroom units,' said Palmer."

The Philadelphia Inquirer. "With a growing number of health problems, emergency procedures, and joint replacements, Rich and Elaine want to move to a home where they can age safely and more comfortably. Yet like many people their age, they can’t find one they can afford."

"These boomer trends have presented a problem for developers, many of whom built independent living, assisted-living facilities, or continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs), which usually offer higher-end amenities, services, and a community for fees that tend to be thousands of dollars per month."

"Developers are finding that the rooms they thought would fill quickly are sitting empty. In the fourth quarter of 2018, for example, the national occupancy rate for independent-living and assisted-living facilities fell to 88 percent, a seven-year low, said Beth Burnham Mace, chief economist at the National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing & Care Industry (NIC)."

"'A lot of the development has been toward the higher-income cohort, so the gap that you’re seeing is because there may not be sufficient housing being built to cover middle-income seniors,' said Mace."

The Wall Street Journal. "Joseph Sitt was one of the most aggressive investors during Manhattan’s retail real-estate investment boom. Now, he’s starting to feel the pinch of New York’s retail downturn. His company’s $37 million mortgage on 115 Mercer Street in SoHo late last month was taken over by a special servicer. Mr. Sitt’s Thor Equities had defaulted on loan payments for the property. A mortgage on one of his Upper East Side properties has been in special servicing since last year."

"They show how challenging it has become for Manhattan’s retail landlords to make a profit in some neighborhoods amid rising vacancies, falling rents and competition."

"Looking to justify the high prices they paid, some landlords started aggressively pushing for higher rents. That pressure, along with the trend of more shopping moving online, caused vacancies to rise. Back then, 'if you had stopped to look at the trend of how retailers ' were performing and the pending impact of online sales, it would have been clear that those rents would end up strangling the retailer,' said Nina Kampler, founder of Kampler Advisory Group."