Small Multifamily

Ivan Kaufman, Chairman, President & CEO of Arbor Realty Trust, Inc., sits down with Steve Johnson, Vice President of the Small Loan Business at Freddie Mac Multifamily, for a discussion on how the Freddie Mac Small Balance Loan program has expanded liquidity to underserved markets.

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.

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.

Here’s a quick look at the small balance multifamily finance and investment benchmarks for Q4 2016.

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.

Join Arbor on March 10th at 12:00pm ET for a special episode of The Real Estate Hour on SiriusXM Business Radio.