Small Multifamily

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.