It's that time of year: Budget season. Rental housing economist Jay Parsons offers up data, tips and ideas for how to think about revenue and expenses in 2026. We know supply will drop off, but will occupancy rates stabilize and concessions burn off? Will rents rebound? Will we continue to see high retention and steady renewal rent growth, or could some operators run into challenges with inverted rent rolls and gain-to-lease scenarios pushing down renewals? And what about operating expenses? Expense growth has (finally) cooled off materially of late, so will that continue into 2027? To further aid the discussion, Jay welcomes in Sue Ansel, the CEO of one of the nation's largest owner-manager-developers, Gables Residential. Sue shares her take on the year ahead for revenue and expenses, while offering up practical tips for thinking about operating budgets in 2026. Additionally, Jay brings back recurring features like "In the News" and "Rental Housing Trivia."
