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As we move into 2023, all eyes will once again be on the Federal Reserve, the job market, and the housing market. Investors who are in a good position going into the correction will be able to take advantage of opportunities.

Driven by cyclical, demographic, and technological factors, the single-family rental (SFR) sector has matured over the past decade. The once-fragmented industry has both coalesced and professionalized. While the evolution of the SFR sector has been explored at length, a clear picture of its core set of tenants is just now coming into focus.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced a $6 billion rollback of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s volume cap for loan purchases for 2023 to $150 billion ($75 billion for each agency) as multifamily transaction activity has declined in 2022. FHFA also added new provisions to its mission-driven lending initiative designed to increase investment in affordable and workforce housing, two sectors with significant growth potential in a tight housing market.

Arbor Chairman and CEO Ivan Kaufman kicked off the first full day of eCore22 in Miami this November with an informative and intimate panel discussion, featuring Charles Ostroff, SVP Multifamily Chief Credit Officer at Fannie Mae, Robert Verrone, Principal at Iron Hound Management Company, and Aaron Kurlansky, Principal at Sheridan Capital, that covered the most pressing economic issues of the moment.

Amid economic headwinds, SFR is well-positioned as a primary alternative for would-be homebuyers priced out of ownership in today’s high-interest-rate housing market.

The highly anticipated transition from LIBOR® to SOFR, which goes into effect after June 30, 2023, will make SOFR the standard benchmark rate across a wide range of financial products. Although the financial community is expecting a smooth transition, there are notable differences between the two rates that will influence multifamily lending.

The small multifamily sub-sector remains in a favorable position to withstand macroeconomic instability.

In the last quarter of 2022, the multifamily sector continues to thrive despite ongoing economic uncertainty. As the investment community looks ahead to 2023, Arbor’s Managing Director, Senior Production Officer Jean-Laurent Pouliot discusses what’s in store for multifamily and how Arbor is positioned to help investors continue to exceed expectations next year.

Arbor’s latest Affordable Housing Trends Report, produced in partnership with Chandan Economics, examines the affordable housing market’s growth trajectory in a challenging economic climate.

Multifamily rent growth remained strong in the San Antonio market during the third quarter of 2022, although began showing deceleration from the most recent record highs measured earlier in the year. Barriers to homeownership continued to drive rental demand, as vacancy rates reached all-time lows.