Articles

The Most Active Markets for New Multifamily Development in 2025

After the volume of multifamily permits fell nationally in 2023 and 2024, this year is on pace to be a year of stabilization for multifamily development. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, out of the top 100 largest U.S. metros by population, 47 had more multifamily permits through the first six months of 2025 than they did over the same period last year. Driven by strong underlying multifamily demand, attractive investment opportunities are leading to rebounding construction pipelines. As multifamily permitting rises, we explore the markets where new permits issued are most concentrated and where construction activity is gaining momentum.

Current Reports

Small Multifamily Investment Trends Report Q3 2025

Arbor’s Small Multifamily Investment Trends Report Q3 2025, developed in partnership with Chandan Economics, examines the factors behind the continued upward trajectory of the sector amid an ongoing capital markets recalibration. Several of its core performance metrics, including valuations, originations, and credit standards, have shown measurable improvement as a multifamily market-wide normalization takes shape. Supported by strong fundamentals, small multifamily stands tall despite economic uncertainty.

Analysis

U.S. Multifamily Market Snapshot — August 2025

The U.S. multifamily market stood on the cusp of a new cycle at the halfway point of 2025, as demand continued to be driven by favorable demographic trends and a structural need for housing.

Articles

Small Multifamily Continues Steady Price Growth

Small multifamily valuations realized positive year-over-year growth in the second quarter of 2025, demonstrating the sector’s ongoing resilience in an unsettled economic environment. Steady rent growth, improving operating expense ratios, and stable cap rates helped move price growth into positive territory.

Articles

Metro-Level SFR Rent Growth Trends in the First Half of 2025

Albany, NY, and many other affordable mid-sized metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) outpaced the national rent growth average for single-family rental (SFR) properties in the first half of 2025, according to an analysis of Zillow’s Observed Rent Index, which tracks the 100 largest markets in the U.S.

Articles

Larger Buildings and Smaller Units: How New Multifamily Completions Continue to Evolve

Driven by high construction costs, land constraints, and rental affordability, developers are increasingly prioritizing smaller units in higher-density multifamily properties. Utilizing data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s annual Survey of Construction, the research teams at Chandan Economics and Arbor Realty Trust have analyzed how the characteristics of new multifamily properties continue to evolve.

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Ivan Kaufman Reveals Why Arbor Is a Top-Performing REIT on NYSE Floor Talk

Arbor Realty Trust’s CEO discusses what sets Arbor apart and how it has thrived amid the pandemic

Most commercial mortgage REITs focus on one product line, but Arbor’s diverse platform has allowed it to stand out from the competition, noted Ivan Kaufman, the founder, chairman and CEO of Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: ABR), in an interview with NYSE Floor Talk’s Judy Shaw.

“In every single climate, we’re very active with different products depending where interest rates are, depending where market demand is, and depending on where the consumer preferences are. So we’re not just relying on one product and we have multiple income streams,” he said.

One business Arbor is particularly active in is single-family build-to-rent. Kaufman used his decades of experience in the single-family residential industry to successfully lead Arbor into the single-family rental (SFR) business and develop its own proprietary Single-Family Rental Portfolio platform in late 2019. Arbor was also one of the first lenders to enter the space and the business has grown significantly over the past few years.

Build-to-rent is a segment of the SFR market that has taken off due to the pandemic and millennials moving to the suburbs as they mature and start families.

“If people can’t afford to buy or home or it doesn’t fit their economic profile, they rent a home. Renting a home has become a very high in demand experience,” he noted.

Developers are capitalizing on this mounting demand for rental homes. They are buying land and building communities with homes specifically for rent, while offering amenities often found in apartment complexes. Kaufman noted that because of the efficiencies that have evolved over the last few years, builders are finding they can develop these communities at a similar cost to a multifamily property.

As build-to-rent gains attention, institutional investors are beginning to enter the space. Builders are seeing the benefits of selling a portion of their single-family communities to larger investors who will turn around and rent out those units, Kaufman explained.

Build-to-rent is “a great asset class to be in and I’m glad Arbor Realty Trust is front and center in that market,” he said. “It’s dominating our platform.”

For more insights, watch the full interview above.