When analyzing the portfolio – that is home to nearly 16,000 people across California – by property type, none of the average rent collection rates dropped below 90% during the pandemic. Senior properties outperformed the other segments as rates have remained at or above 96.4%. Our Multi-family portfolio has been the most impacted in terms of rent collection rates as this resident population is either experiencing employment loss or reduced working hours due to COVID-19. Lastly, the Supportive Housing portfolio has had the most fluctuations, but recent results were strong at 94.7%, the highest rate for this segment since October 2020 and well above the rate at the start of pandemic (92.8% for April 2020).
Looking forward, the outlook is positive, and we are grateful to all our Partners who are providing operations and resident support services. Vaccines are being administered as soon as distributed and Federal rent relief is on its way via the Emergency Rental Assistance Program funds ($2.6B allocated to California). Barring a surge in COVID-19 cases, we anticipate rent collection rates are trending upward, a positive for all.
Merritt’s strong portfolio results are attributed to many factors, most importantly due to the efforts of our resilient General Partners (our property partners) and their property management & service provider teams. Through the various stages of shelter-in-place mandates and rent law changes these teams have pivoted with great speed and efficiency. We are proud to learn of the many stories of how these teams are helping residents identify, request, and receive rental assistance. Merritt sends a big “THANK YOU” to all those involved in helping the residents during these difficult and uncertain times.
About Merritt Community Capital Corporation
Merritt Community Capital Corporation is a nonprofit dedicated to our mission to provide equity capital for affordable housing exclusively to California. We do this by partnering with mission-aligned affordable housing developers throughout the state to ensure the most critical communities are developed and maintained for low-income residents. Since 1989, Merritt has created and/or preserved more than 9,000 affordable homes, through investing $950 million in 22 separate funds. To learn more, visit www.merrittcap.org.