The housing market has had a remarkable recovery since the depths of its collapse over ten years ago. Record home values have been fueled by low interest rates, a shortage of housing stock and a fundamental increase in housing’s intrinsic value brought about by COVID-19 (Covid). Gains in apartment values have followed a similar trajectory, due to limited supply and soaring rents. In both cases, a lack of supply is to blame for soaring prices, which means that housing continues to be a significant financial burden for much of the U.S. population. As investors considering fundamental risk, we are forced to face the dichotomy of booming markets and deteriorating social welfare. In this white paper, we discuss how we are considering the housing shortage and affordability problem as investors in commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS).
