Angela Kleiman on construction
From Essex Property Trust CEO on rent inflation and state of the apartment market · · CNBCTelevision
“So what we're building right now is barely keeping up with the demand that's necessary.”
On , Angela Kleiman, President, Chief Executive Officer & Director at Essex Property Trust Inc, spoke about construction during Essex Property Trust CEO on rent inflation and state of the apartment market on CNBCTelevision.
About Angela Kleiman
Angela Kleiman, President, CEO, and Director of Essex Property Trust, discussed the state of the apartment market in a June 2024 CNBC interview. She stated that despite recent overbuilding in apartment construction, occupancy remains steady at 94%, which she attributed to an "acute housing shortage." Kleiman noted that on the West Coast, new supply is about half a percent of total stock, and that "what we're building right now is barely keeping up with the demand that's necessary." She also said that "it is much cheaper to rent than to own," leading consumers to choose renting as the more affordable option. Kleiman commented on several market dynamics. Regarding interest rates, she said the Federal Reserve's delay in lowering rates was due to a strong economy and continued inflationary pressure, but that a decrease "has to occur" at some point. She noted that there is "a large amount of capital interested in apartments," particularly for completed projects. On office-to-apartment conversions, she described them as "really expensive" and physically prohibitive due to building layouts, and said Essex does not expect such conversions to occur "at the volume people have anticipated." She also addressed competition from single-family built-for-rent communities, stating that in Essex's West Coast markets, acquiring large tracts of land is "so difficult" that such competition is limited.