Podcast
The Rent Roll with Jay Parsons
Hosted by Jay Parsons · EN
All things rental housing -- headlines, commentaries and interviews on apartments, SFR, BTR, operations, investments, development, policy and more.
50episodes
Episodes
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EP#75 Mark Parrell | The Evolution of Equity Residential
Mar 1201:05:38Summary readyRental housing economist Jay Parsons dives into the remarkable story of Equity Residential, starting with two fraternity brothers at the University of Michigan in the 1960s through its IPO in the 1990s, its scaling to 225,000 units in 2001 (which included investments in 36 states, in affordable housing and in ranch-style apartments) to its shift to focus entirely in coastal urban markets to its latest chapter retuning to select Sun Belt markets. Jay in joined in the program by EQR's CEO, Mark Parrell, who worked under the late great Sam Zell beginning in the late 1990s. Mark takes us inside EQR and shares the factors that drove the latest pivot, and why Equity Residential is now building attainable housing on the outskirts of Atlanta — a big shift from high-rises in major coastal cities. Additionally, in this week's "In the News" segment, Jay breaks down the latest headlines and happenings related to the proposed ban on institutional investors in single-family rental homes — and how the latest legislation could effectively crush most build-to-rent construction as well. What could the implications be, and why are housing analysts opposing a bill that was initially intended to boost housing supply?
SummaryEP#74 Jason Morgan | Inside Multifamily's Biggest Family Business
Mar 501:11:59Summary readyRental housing economist Jay Parsons dives into the multifamily industry's biggest family business, Morgan Properties. Started in the mid-1980s when Mitchell Morgan acquired three apartment communities in suburban Philadelphia with a dollar down, Morgan's portfolio has since grown to 110,000+ units — making Morgan the No. 2 largest apartment owner in the country. Mitchell recently promoted his two sons, Jonathan and Jason Morgan, to co-CEOs to lead the company in its next chapter. Jason Morgan joins The Rent Roll to share his family story, talk about the company's buy box and its focus of late on the Midwest, and to discuss how the company could evolve under a new generation of leadership. Additionally, Jay shares the latest data on apartment sales — including new data showing the return of capital in certain types of submarkets, while capital remains sparse for other types. Jay breaks down those two competing realities in an era where neighborhood — not just MSA — matter more than ever.
SummaryEP#73 Rich Hill | 7 Takeaways From SRF REIT Calls + Finding Opportunities in Rental Housing
Feb 2601:06:16Summary readyAfter avoiding public comment for weeks after the White House announced it proposed ban on institutional investors buying homes, the single-family rental REITs now enter the spotlight for earnings call season. How are they responding? Rental housing economist Jay Parsons shares the answer as part of his seven takeaways from the SFR REITs' recent earnings calls. One key: Increased emphasis on the pre-existing strategy of selling older homes and recycling capital into new build-to-rent construction. Additionally, Jay shares color from the REITs on slowed leasing and softening rents for the SFR sector broadly, and what that could mean for the 2026 outlook. Additionally, Jay discusses headlines from a busy news week for rental housing — including another multifamily REIT taken private, a potential apartment rent rebound in Austin, and more evidence of the positive impact of new "luxury" supply on rent affordability. Later in the program, Jay welcomes in Principal Asset Management's Rich Hill, senior managing director and global head of real estate research and strategy. Rich and Jay discuss public versus private valuations, where the industry is headed, and where investment opportunities could exist for rental housing over the next cycle. Rich shares his take on single-family rentals, apartments and student housing.
SummaryEP#72 Kenny Burgos | Debacle: NYC Rent Stabilized Apartments
Feb 1900:59:08Summary readyAs New York City's new mayor pushes a rent freeze on the city's beleaguered rent stabilized apartments, a new voice is emerging from the landlord side — and it happens to be the guy who sat next to Zohran Mamdani in the New York state legislature. Meet Kenny Burgos, a former state legislator who is now the CEO of the New York Apartment Association. Kenny has taken a fresh, pragmatic approach to the rent control debate — highlighting data, logic and real-life examples over short-form videos on social media in a way that could be a template for others across the country trying to respond to disproven policy ideas. In addition to the conversation with Kenny, Jay Parsons also shares a brief version of New York's 100+ years of rent control, and how continued tightening has only exacerbated challenges for renters. Also in this episode, Jay shares the latest headlines impacting single-family rentals and introduces a new segment to the podcast called "Good News."
SummaryEP#71 Jana Galan | 7 Takeaways From Apartment REIT Calls
Feb 1200:57:03Summary readyThe big six apartment REITs just wrapped up their Q4 2025 earnings calls. Rental housing economist Jay Parsons shares the seven key themes and takeaways from those calls — and what these trends might mean for the broader multifamily market. Those themes include improvement in multifamily fundamentals headed into the spring leasing season (including some initial reduction in concessions) and yet still muted expectations for rent growth in 2026, the continued strength of New York and San Francisco coupled with lingering challenges in other coastal markets (and related news of Camden exiting California), signs of momentum in the supply-drenched Sun Belt, plus more stock buybacks as REITs continue to trade at big discounts to net asset value. Later in the program, Jay welcomes in REIT analyst Jana Galan from Bank of America Securities. Jana gives her take on the effectiveness of buybacks and how Wall Street investors see apartments today compared to other asset classes, as well as her thoughts on the eventual recovery. Additionally, Jay reviews headlines of the week impacting rental housing, and gives his take on a recent congressional hearing on housing affordability and a potential ban on large investors buying single-family homes.
SummaryEP#70 Jeff Weidell | 5 Takeaways From NMHC Annual Meeting
Feb 500:56:53Summary readyWhat was the sentiment at the apartment industry's biggest annual get-together, the National Multifamily Housing Council's Annual Meeting? Rental housing economist shares his take on the pulse of the market as part of hig Top 5 takeaways from the event in Las Vegas. In particular, Jay shares color and insights on the wide availability of debt capital, and what implications that's having downstream for would-be sellers and would-be buyers. Jay then welcomes in Jeff Weidell, the CEO of Northmarq, one of the biggest names in multifamily capital markets. Jeff shares his thoughts on how the apartment sector could unfold in 2026, and what could result from the disconnect between buyers chasing distress and actual distress at lower quality that what most buyers want. Jeff also talks about the policy environment for multifamily finance, and how that's changing, as well as his thoughts on the potential privatization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. And as always, Jay brings back recurring features like "Rental Housing Trivia" and "In the News" — including another myth-buster news article on the role of institutional investors in the single-family housing market.
SummaryEP#69 Michael Comparato | Where's All The Distress?
Jan 2901:04:38Summary readyWe've been hearing about the so-called wall of maturities and looming distress in multifamily for a couple years now. So, where is it? When will it show it up? What could it look like, and what implications could it have (or not have) on the broader multifamily market? Rental housing economist Jay Parsons shares the latest on apartment distress, and how we could be seeing a mismatch between capital chasing distressed deals versus actual distressed opportunities in the market. Jay then welcomes in the head of a major apartment lender, Michael Comparato of Benefit Street Partners, to dive deeper into emerging distress. Mike shares his thoughts on how much longer lenders can stay patient, what could push more distressed deals into the market, how the emergence of debt funds have changed the game, and how distressed deals could impact the broader sector. Additionally, Jay brings back recurring segments like "In the News" — highlighting new articles on the proposed ban on institutional SFR investors as well as the increased opportunities for BTR development.
SummaryEP#68 Carl Whitaker | Q1 '26 Multifamily Update & Outlook
Jan 2201:09:53Summary readyWhat's the latest on the U.S. apartment market? Rental housing economist Jay Parsons shares fresh data and commentary on multifamily fundamentals across the country — and notes it's no longer as clean-cut as coastal versus Sun Belt. Jay breaks down the key performance indicators from supply and demand to occupancy and rent, hunting for green shoots and giving perspective on when we could see concessions burn off and rent growth rebound. RealPage Chief Economist Carl Whitaker joins the podcast to share his take on the 2026 outlook, particularly around demand drivers given increased uncertainty in the economy. Reduced supply is a given in 2026, but what about demand? And how long will it take to lease up the surge of supply that completed in 2024 and 2025? Additionally, Jay breaks down the latest headlines impacting apartments and single-family rentals, as well as teeing up another edition of "Rental Housing Trivia."
SummaryEP#67 Joshua Coven | Top 10 Myths About Institutional Investors In Housing
Jan 1501:01:51Summary readyInstitutional investors in single-family rentals are suddenly front-page news thanks to President Trump's proposed ban on institutions buying houses. But what does the data and academic research tell us about institutions' impact on home prices, home sales, homeownership, rents and on neighborhoods? And how do those impacts vary in the parts of the country with heavier concentrations of institutional investors? Rental housing economist Jay Parsons breaks down the 10 most common myths we're hearing about institutional investors in single-family housing, and responds to each one with data from academic papers, renter surveys and leading data sources. And to help further the conversation, Jay welcomes in an academic who just published an award-winning, peer-reviewed paper on the impact of institutional investors in housing — Dr. Joshua Coven, a professor at Baruch College in New York City. Professor Coven shares three major takeaways from his study published last year. Additionally, Jay shares his thoughts on the latest headlines touching on apartments and single-family rentals during the "In the News" segment, including high concessions for apartments in Phoenix and other Sun Belt cities.
SummaryEP#66 Josh Hartmann | Q1'26 SFR/BTR Update & Outlook
Jan 801:12:22Summary readyWhat's the latest in the single-family rental and build-to-rent market? The sectors are drawing a lot of attention right now, driven by widening discount to rent versus buy. But that isn't translating into improved leasing velocity or rent growth for SFR operators. Why not? Rental housing economist Jay Parsons explains, and outlines what might play out this year. Additionally, Jay shares his take on President Trump's announcement that he will pursue a ban on institutional investors buying single-family homes. Later in the program, Jay welcomes in one of the nation's early pioneers in BTR development — Josh Hartmann, the CEO of NexMetro. Josh shares the great story of how Phoenix became the epicenter of the BTR boom, and gives his take on the sector's future direction. As always, Jay brings back recurring segments like "In the News" (where Jay breaks down a recent article on the sluggish condo market, among other headlines) and "Rental Housing Trivia."
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