At the 2023 CBJ Real Estate Symposium held at the Hotel at Kirkwood March 30, a panel of real estate professionals gave a glimpse into the current state of the industry, trends in the multifamily living space, where they see the industry headed and what keeps them up at night. The panel followed a keynote […]
Already a subscriber? Log in
Want to Read More?
Get immediate, unlimited access to all subscriber content and much more.
Learn more in our subscriber FAQ.
- Unparalleled business coverage of the Iowa City / Cedar Rapids corridor.
- Immediate access to subscriber-only content on our website.
- 26 issues per year delivered digitally, in print or both.
- Support locally owned and operated journalism.
Do you want to read and share this article without a paywall?
Click here to purchase a paywall bypass linkAt the 2023 CBJ Real Estate Symposium held at the Hotel at Kirkwood March 30, a panel of real estate professionals gave a glimpse into the current state of the industry, trends in the multifamily living space, where they see the industry headed and what keeps them up at night.
The panel followed a keynote from David Barker, a partner in Barker Companies and a member of the Iowa Board of Regents.
The panel consisted of Tiffany Earl Williams, a real estate broker with Skogman Commercial; Dave Johnson, a business unit director with Shive-Hattery; and Brandon Pratt, owner of Lion Development Group. Eastern Iowa Airport director Marty Lenss spoke on the panel virtually.
In lightly edited format, these are their responses.
Mr. Lenss: We’re in a fantastic position for the future. We are one of the few airports that are debt free. It certainly helps us be competitive in the region.
As far as things going on, we just approved a budget a couple months ago that is north of $100 million for the first time in the history of the airport. The terminal project had no property tax from the county. We’re also looking at more parking needs. Passenger numbers are up about 16% year-to-date, so we are anxious to see the March numbers as well.Â
Q: What trends are you seeing in the multifamily living sector?
Mr. Johnson: Technology is now expected. It’s no longer a perk we can offer. It’s expected we have smart thermostats, virtual tours and more. The other thing we’re seeing is people are moving into these apartment complexes for the community. They want the amenities, but they really want to do activities with others. In tertiary markets, we’re seeing more and more of our partners move into small communities where there’s a high demand for multifamily living. Vacancy rates are still really good but slowly rising. Rent growth is expected to slow over the next few months. Supply is rising faster than demand. In terms of retirees, I think we're starting to see retirement facilities have to make changes to address the changing demographics of their clients. For baby boomers, moving into a conventional retirement home is the last thing they want to do. So we’re seeing retirement facilities more suitable for the active user where they unbundle their services. We’re starting to see retirement centers have less staff payroll and more third-party providers.Give us an update about what’s happening at the Eastern Iowa Airport.
Mr. Lenss: We’re in a fantastic position for the future. We are one of the few airports that are debt free. It certainly helps us be competitive in the region.
As far as things going on, we just approved a budget a couple months ago that is north of $100 million for the first time in the history of the airport. The terminal project had no property tax from the county. We’re also looking at more parking needs. Passenger numbers are up about 16% year-to-date, so we are anxious to see the March numbers as well.Â
