While Gateway markets like New York and San Francisco still dominate, the STEAM job market (think STEM plus arts) is increasingly moving to Secondary markets.

Let’s examine the relationship between small asset apartment asking rents and household income across the nation.

Evaluating household income by renter segments helps apartment investors better position and price their units. In the case of small properties, married couples and individuals sharing rental units have significantly higher incomes.

Growth trends for small asset renters in highly skilled occupations are encouraging. These findings align with projected job growth forecasts into the middle of the next decade.

Despite a marginal improvement for small property renters, housing affordability levels remain uneven across the major metros in the US.

Though the rent gap between small and larger properties is shrinking for studio and one-bedroom units, new Census data shows that there are still substantial savings for larger units in smaller properties.

The most recent update from the Census Bureau indicates that the small multifamily rental market experienced a steeper year-over-year increase in rents compared to both larger properties and historical trends.

Though income improvement has recently surpassed rent growth, new research finds that small properties (5 to 49 units) continue to provide a relatively more affordable option compared to large apartment buildings.

Secondary markets are home to the fastest inventory growth for the small multifamily (5 to 49 units) asset sector. In this deeper dive into the trend, we provide more details on where exactly these growth markets are.

Figures from the the latest Census update for year-end 2015 show stronger growth in the secondary and tertiary small asset apartment markets compared to the gateway markets.