Even with the market in flux, opportunities continue emerging for well-positioned investors. Historically, some of the best multifamily deals were closed in down cycles or during the upswing to normalcy. Arbor’s Special Report Fall 2024 details why the current economic climate is ripe for investment.
Following strong post-pandemic gains, the U.S. labor market has cooled over the past few months, placing multifamily investors in a position to realize the benefits of less restrictive monetary policy.
Small multifamily continued to moderate through the midpoint of 2024, amid strong demand despite an elevated interest rate environment and rising property-level yields.
The single-family rental (SFR) sector’s performance surged again last quarter, demonstrating its ability to thrive in all economic cycles. SFR construction continued its record-breaking ascent as CMBS activity blossomed. Arbor’s Single-Family Rental Investment Trends Report Q3 2024, developed in partnership with Chandan Economics, examines the sector’s fundamentals as would-be homeowners weigh the rent-vs-buy calculation.
Did you know that at the same time many renters navigate a housing market with limited affordable options, new apartment development continues to be held back by World War II-era zoning restrictions? In many localities, regulations introduced in the mid-1940s have choked the multifamily pipeline for decades, creating a “missing middle” that leaves low-income renters in a lurch.
Increasingly, single-family rental (SFR) operators have been relying on build-to-rent (BTR) development to bridge the housing gap, accelerating the momentum of SFR construction through 2024’s halfway point. Both total SFR/BTR housing starts and BTR’s share of all single-family housing starts reached new record highs in the second quarter, setting the stage for another banner year.
The small multifamily outlook continues to brighten as more signs indicate a normalization has already begun. In the second quarter, originations activity and borrowing conditions improved as completions sat at a five-decade high, Arbor’s Small Multifamily Investment Trends Report Q3 2024, developed in partnership with Chandan Economics, shows. While the subsector’s fundamentals are trending up, it still has room for growth when interest rate relief arrives.
The most recent America’s Rental Housing 2024 report published by Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) takes a detailed look at the state of the rental housing industry.
Following a banner year in 2022, the U.S. multifamily market held steady during 2023. Arbor provided research and insights into our markets throughout the year. Here’s a look at our top Arbor research articles from 2023, in case you missed them.
While macroeconomic headwinds remain a constant challenge, the small multifamily sector has demonstrated its ability to bend rather than break.
Multifamily rent growth in the U.S. continued to be distributed throughout a variety of markets, which contrasted with the previous two years when Sun Belt markets dominated the list.
The U.S. multifamily market held steady during the third quarter of 2023, as high mortgage rates and a lack of inventory in the housing market continued to drive rental demand.
Fannie Mae recently announced that its Small Loan cap has increased from $6 million to $9 million for all loans committed as of August 22, 2023. Multifamily borrowers and lenders have praised the change to the Fannie Mae Small Loans program, which will encourage greater investment in a rapidly growing sector where demand remains high despite market volatility.
While macroeconomic headwinds may not recede soon, tenant dependability, the core strength of small multifamily, has proven to be a powerful antidote to financial market storms.
Multifamily rent growth in the U.S. was spread throughout a diverse selection of markets during the second quarter of 2023, a change from the last several quarters when Sun Belt markets dominated the list.
The U.S. multifamily market continued to slow during the second quarter of 2023. Rent growth retreated from the skyrocketing pace of the last two years, although still remained positive alongside continued high rental demand.
The small multifamily sub-sector ended 2022 on a high note with originations falling just behind 2021’s peak. As economic storm clouds continue circling, small multifamily appears fortified from any reverberations that may result.