A warm welcome to the November issue of PerchPeek’s US Market Monthly update!

Here’s where you’ll find the hottest stories around employee relocation and global mobility, insights from our experts on housing and cost-of-living news affecting your staff, the latest trends in international talent strategy, and tips and tricks on ways to support your teams.

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A fly-by summary

• A full update on how employee home-finding will slow down in the festive season
• Making sure your team are supported and prepared for Thanksgiving weekend
• Rental prices in the biggest cities have fallen slightly but remain high, meaning they’re still tough markets for prospective renters
• How to make sure your employees are aware of upcoming energy price rises
• Tips to share with your team on how to save money on energy bills this winter

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Home-finding: Rental searches to slow down during holiday season

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Halloween has come and gone, Thanksgiving is fast approaching and Starbucks have broken out their festive red cups…the festive season is upon us! As well as all the fun stuff, it can be a tricky time for house-hunters, with agencies closing for the holidays and the process generally slowing down.

If you’re supporting staff coming to the US, you can help manage their rental market expectations at this time of year with this key advice from the PerchPeek US team:

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• At this point (mid-November), any movers who haven’t secured a place to live will now be looking at a January move-in date (perhaps with the odd exception).

• In December, rental stock levels and the pace of property-finding tend to slow down.

• Everything will be closed on Thanksgiving (24th November) plus the following day in over 20 states, Christmas Day (25th December) and New Year’s Day (1st January).

• Other than that, it’s officially normal working days, but expect agencies to close early on 24th and 31st December, especially as they fall on a Saturday this year.

• We expect property viewings to either shut down for the two weeks around Christmas and New Year, or to be possible but slow around this time. 

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Support your talent: Getting prepared for Thanksgiving and Black Friday

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With the ongoing cost of living crisis, it might feel difficult to muster up some festive cheer right now, especially for new arrivals settling in. One way to support your employees who are new to the country is helping them prepare for Thanksgiving weekend - making sure they’re aware of store closures, and even putting them in touch to get into the holiday spirit together!

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It’s worth pointing out to new arrivals that this year, Walmart, Target and Best Buy will be closed on Thanksgiving, continuing a new practice that began in response to Covid. This also goes for Costco, Publix, Trader Joe’s and other retailers who’ve closed on Thanksgiving for years. So, newcomers will need to be prepared and stock up on groceries before the long weekend. 

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With many residents at home or away seeing family during this time, new expats may want to check out local community groups or club together to organize their own Thanksgiving dinner! Local Facebook groups are a good start, or they could swing by the local community center.

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New arrivals will also find it super helpful to know that big stores like Target and Walmart have kicked off sales before the holidays. While Black Friday and Cyber Monday are the best time to buy discounted electronics, now’s a great time for cheap deals on furniture and homeware!

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Home-finding: Rental prices are declining but remain high

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According to Zumper’s National Rent Report in October 2022, one- and two-bedroom unit prices are down nationally month-over-month, for the first time in two years. The report lists drivers of this new development as rising vacancy rates in certain markets and just normal seasonal moving trends, along with a rising fear of recession.

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Prices are still high across the board however, with the median price for a one-bedroom in NYC at $3,860, followed by Boston at $3,060. The median nationwide price is at $1,491.

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These are the trends PerchPeek have been seeing in some of the most popular markets:

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Seattle

Rents have declined 2.6% over the past month, but are up marginally by 0.7% versus this time last year. This is the second straight month that we’ve seen rent decrease, but these changes aren’t significant as demand is still high. 

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California

In CA, rental rates are still down ~1-3% compared to prices pre-pandemic, but they’re holding pretty steady. Experts expect rent prices to go up 5-10% by the end of the year. For buying, home prices are down 5%, as demand has dropped due to rising interest rates.

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East Coast

It’s still a fast-moving and competitive market overall, and especially in NY. Here we’re seeing more listings, and they’re staying up a bit longer. Here also, 25% of listings were discounted in September with rental concessions to entice renters.

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To support employees looking for a home, it’s important to note the difficulties in the market and make allowances to provide support, such as reviewing relocation packages regularly. If you’d like an update on any other city or region, reach out and we’ll be happy to help!

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Cost of living: Energy bills to rise this winter, but inflation increase slowing

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As we enter the winter months and the weather (though still largely unseasonably warm in many locations) has started to cool, the US Energy Information Administration has published its outlook on future fuel price trends.

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According to their report, the 50% or so of US households relying on natural gas to heat their homes should expect bills to rise by around 28% this winter. For the 40% of households whose heat is generated by electricity, bills are expected to go up by about 10%.

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As there’s continued uncertainty around the future of utility costs, our advice is to review compensation and relocation support packages regularly to make sure they stay in line with the current cost of living. Any easing of financial worries is something that’ll make a massive difference to your employees!

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There is light at the end of the cost-of-living tunnel, however! The US consumer price index rose by 7.7% year-over-year in October, which while clearly still a significant rise, is the smallest annual increase in 2022 - a sign of optimism that’s led to share prices rising across the world.

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Support your team: Tips for saving on utility bills this winter

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As people all over the country will be feeling the squeeze of food and household bills rising, we’ve put together our top tips for saving money on utilities as we move into winter, to help you support and give advice to your employees:

• Run appliances late in the evening (as long as it won’t disturb the neighbors!) - utility companies charge more for power that’s used at peak times.

• Heating and AC filters should be changed regularly, to make sure they’re running efficiently.

• If the property has ceiling fans, these can be a good alternative to air conditioners. Fans only cost around a penny an hour, compared to AC at 36 cents per hour - the most costly of the appliances!

• Reducing the temperature of the water heater from the default 140 degrees to around 120 will save money and it’ll still be possible to enjoy warm showers!

• Shop around for deals: many energy suppliers have special offers for new customers. 

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Cost-conscious employees may find these tips useful, especially when it comes to new arrivals in the country who might be used to different heating and cooling systems back home!

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We hope you enjoyed this month’s update - if you ever have any feedback, comments or questions about what's going on in your location, feel free to reach out!

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Thanks for reading, and see you next month!

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Questions About Moving Employees or What We Do At PerchPeek?

No matter where your business is located, or how many employees you have to move, the relocation experts at PerchPeek are standing by at all times to answer any and all questions that you may have about moving and taking care of your most important business asset, your team!