Arbor Realty Trust’s latest Small Multifamily Investment Trends Report, developed in partnership with Chandan Economics, evaluates what’s driving this sector’s ongoing stability as macroeconomic conditions remain mixed. Loan originations rose last quarter, and valuations are rebounding, signaling that normalization is taking hold.
Over the past 12 months, the leading rent growth markets spanned multiple regions, each exhibiting distinct strengths and characteristics.
Labor market conditions are a foundational driver of rental housing demand, influencing tenant stability and household growth. While the national pace of hiring has moderated, the economies of many metropolitan areas continue to outperform. Expanding on Arbor’s latest Top Markets for Multifamily Investment Report, our research teams highlight the local dynamics supporting growth in several of the country’s strongest-performing multifamily markets.
The U.S. multifamily sector continued to build momentum at the start of 2026. Rent growth moved into positive territory, and a moderating construction pipeline showed that vacancy may have reached its cycle peak.
Arbor’s track record of top finishes across multifamily agency rankings reflects the depth of our financing capabilities, the strength of our industry partnerships, and our disciplined, detail-driven approach to execution. Longstanding relationships with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) — built over many years of close collaboration — enable our team to deliver strong borrower outcomes across market cycles, reinforcing Arbor’s position as one of the top multifamily lenders in 2025.
Senior renters are increasingly choosing multifamily housing, with more than half now living in these rental properties, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. Where they live — both by property type and by metropolitan area — provides insight into how housing preferences, local market conditions, and migration patterns shape rental housing demand.
FREDDIE MAC® Conventional Small
Arbor is proud to have planted thousands of trees in the past 40 years – nearly 22,000 in the past five years alone – and we’re still going strong. Since day one, Arbor’s focus on community-building, which grew from the forward-thinking vision of Chairman, CEO, and President Ivan Kaufman, has defined the company’s direction and driven its philanthropic activities.
Arbor remains committed to the responsible environmental management of our operations as well as providing opportunities for our borrowers to improve their own footprints. We are an active participant in our agency partners,’ Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, “green” lending programs, supporting borrowers with funding to make improvements to their properties that help reduce energy and water consumption and lower utility costs to tenants. See success stories from these programs on our Success Stories page.
In our own offices, we are working to identify ways to reduce consumption and our environmental footprint. This exploration involves an analysis of our workspaces and business practices, our vendor and counterparty practices, and the carbon footprint of our lending practices. We believe that the key to keeping our focus on sustainability is an ongoing investment in our people, continuous and broad-based education, and a flexible approach to our policies and processes.
Arbor has continued its domestic and international tree planting program, aimed at supporting two highly successful reforestation efforts through a commitment to plant a tree on behalf of Arbor’s customers for each loan we close. This initiative provides a valuable opportunity to connect with our clients while actively contributing to a critically important environmental cause. To date, in recognition of our closed transactions, and our commitment to these critical organizations, Arbor has financed the planting of 17,000 trees domestically and 3,400 trees in the State of Israel.
In our workspaces across the United States, Arbor has installed low-flow water systems in bathrooms, energy-efficient LED lighting, daylight and occupancy sensors in all new office buildouts and retrofits, and hands-free faucets. All equipment is set to energy reduction modes, including computer and copier equipment. Arbor shows preference for green leased buildings for one-off offices and purchases ENERGY STAR appliances when available.
Arbor maintains effective recycling processes (supplies, electronics, paper files), where available, to increase landfill diversion and to be in compliance with all building rules and regulations. We utilize e-signature and electronic invoices and statements and encourage digital-only subscriptions and eco-friendly packaging solutions.
In 2024 Arbor conducted a Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventory though a third-party partner. The inventory covered scopes 1 and 2 emissions of office spaces under the company’s operational control during the year 2023. In 2025, we expanded the inventory to include scope 3 emissions. This inventory will be Arbor’s baseline year of emissions and will allow the company to track future emissions and create goals and plans for reductions.
Many of the practices we already have in place support the reduction of our carbon footprint, such as our energy management initiatives, which reduce our Scope 2 emissions. We also have a telecommuting policy that allows our employees to work from home utilizing video conferencing for calls. Employees also have access to our Qualified Transportation Expense Program (QTE), which allows employees to open and contribute to a pre-tax account for eligible transportation funds, including public transportation. Both options incentivize reduced use of fossil-fuel transportation, therefore lowering our carbon footprint.
Arbor is in full compliance with environmental regulations in all our office locations and requires the same of the properties on which it lends. We are actively preparing for current and upcoming regulatory requirements for GHG emissions and climate-related disclosures at the state level.