First Advantage SafeRent, a wholly owned subsidiary of First Advantage Corporation and the nation's leading and most innovative provider of screening and risk management services for the multifamily industry, today announced the release of second quarter 2007 multifamily applicant risk statistics. The Multifamily Applicant Risk Index (MARI) is based on data from First Advantage SafeRent's applicant screening model and is updated quarterly to provide property owners and managers with an important measure with which to compare their portfolio's performance. With this one-of-a-kind index, property managers and owners are able to compare their applicant quality levels with that of the average MARI trends. This comparison indicates whether their portfolio is performing above, below or at market levels with respect to attracting and securing high quality, paying residents.
The second quarter MARI for the entire United States was 105. This is a 5 percent increase over the first quarter MARI, which confirms a trend of seeing higher MARI values during the traditionally high applicant traffic volume periods of the second and third quarters. The MARI was down 1 point from the second quarter 2006 value of 106, indicating a slightly riskier applicant pool when compared to one year ago. When comparing applicants for one- versus two- bed room units, the MARI for both types of applicants was 103 in the second quarter. Regionally, the Northeast continues to have the highest MARI with a value of 116 while the South had the lowest MARI this quarter with a value of 102.
From a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) perspective, the three MSAs with the largest decrease in the MARI were Tampa/St. Petersburg/Clearwater, FL; Salt Lake City/Ogden, UT; and Kansas City, MO-KS, with decreases of 5, 5 and 8 points respectively. The three MSAs with the largest increase in the MARI were Rochester, NY; Knoxville, TN; and Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point, NC with increases of 13, 8 and 7 points respectively.
Understanding the Multifamily Applicant Risk Index (MARI)
The Multifamily Applicant Risk Index (MARI) is published quarterly by First Advantage SafeRent. It provides trends of national and regional applicant quality levels whereby a lower index value indicates an applicant pool with a higher risk of not fulfilling lease obligations. A MARI value of 100 indicates that market conditions are equal to the national mean for the index's base period of 2004. A MARI value greater than 100 indicates market conditions with reduced average risk of default relative to the index's base period mean. A value less than 100 indicates market conditions with increased average risk of default relative to the index's base period mean. The MARI is derived from First Advantage SafeRent's Applicant Screening Model -- the multifamily industry's only screening model that is both empirically derived and statistically validated. The Applicant Screening Model was developed from data on historical tenant lease performance to specifically evaluate the potential risk of a tenant's future lease performance. The model provides scores for each applicant indicating the relative risk of the applicant not fulfilling their lease obligations. A lower score indicates a more risky applicant.
Source: PRNewswire