Overview:
First quarter 2022 closed with a direct vacancy rate of 3.9%, an overall vacancy rate of 4.26%, and an average asking direct rental rate reported at $7.79 psf. In March, the Michigan unemployment rate was recorded at 4.4%, a decrease of 0.7 percentage points compared to this time last year. As the U.S. job market nears full recovery, 431,000 jobs were added in March, the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits reached a 52-year low, and the U.S. unemployment rate was recorded at 3.6%, a decrease of 2.4 percentage points compared to one year ago, the lowest rate since the beginning of the pandemic two years ago. However, U.S. inflation has surged to an increase of 7.9% over the past year currently standing at a 40-year high, long-term mortgage rates have risen to the highest they have been since 2019, while producer prices have increased 11.2% compared to one year ago due to higher energy costs leaving consumers around the country to feel the impacts, and U.S. confidence readings fell to the lowest level since 2011. The Federal Reserve announced plans to combat further inflation with increases to the interest rate, which has remained at zero since the beginning of the pandemic. In March, a 0.4% rate increase was issued with an advisory of six additional rate increases throughout 2022 totaling 1.9% and potentially 2.8% by the end of 2023 based on their median forecast, impacting higher loans for consumers and businesses.