Articles

Build-to-Rent Activity Remained Elevated Amid Policy Uncertainty

Build-to-rent (BTR) development remained resilient in a complicated operating environment last quarter as production continued to normalize, according to newly released U.S. Census Bureau data. Despite political uncertainty, higher capital costs, and other headwinds, BTR maintained a historically high share of new single-family construction.

Articles

Where Multifamily Permitting is Intensifying and Accelerating

While national multifamily permitting stabilizes, the authorization of new apartment buildings with five or more units has become more heavily concentrated in smaller, rapidly growing metropolitan areas. From Durham, NC, to Fayetteville, AR, and Raleigh, NC, new U.S. Census Bureau data reveal where multifamily permitting was most concentrated and where it was accelerating fastest in the first half of 2026.

Articles

Small Multifamily Lending Volume Moves Steadily Higher

Small multifamily lending activity rose during the first half of 2026. According to the latest Small Multifamily Investment Trends Report from Arbor Realty Trust and Chandan Economics, originations on loans with original balances between $1 million and $9 million reached an annualized pace of $71.6 billion through the second quarter. At this pace, originations are running 2.8% above the $69.6 billion total for 2025, placing small multifamily on pace for a third consecutive annual increase.

Current Reports

Small Multifamily Investment Trends Report Q3 2026

Arbor Realty Trust’s latest Small Multifamily Investment Trends Report, developed in partnership with Chandan Economics, evaluates what’s driving this sector’s ongoing stability as macroeconomic conditions remain mixed. Loan originations rose last quarter, and valuations are rebounding, signaling that normalization is taking hold.

Articles

SFR Rent Growth Accelerated and Expanded in First Half of 2026

Single-family rental (SFR) conditions strengthened during the first half of 2026, with rents rising across all 50 of the nation’s largest metros between December 2025 and June 2026. Growth was broad-based but uneven, with many Northeast and Midwest markets outperforming major Sun Belt metros.

Articles

Multifamily Completions Shift to Larger, Lower-Rise Properties

This year’s data show that while multifamily completions moderated from 2024’s elevated pace, the sector’s shift toward larger properties continued. At the same time, larger has not necessarily meant taller, as lower-rise buildings continue to account for most new multifamily completions.

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Ivan Kaufman on Yahoo! Finance: Why Multifamily Outperforms

Ivan Kaufman on Yahoo Finance

COVID-19 and Demographics Shift Housing Preferences to Suburbs

Watch the full Yahoo! Finance Interview here.

There are winners and losers with COVID-19. Ivan Kaufman, the founder, chairman and CEO of Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ABR), discussed on Yahoo! Finance why Arbor and the multifamily sector have remained strong throughout the pandemic.

Apartment housing has outperformed all other asset classes, Kaufman explained to “The First Trade” co-hosts Brian Sozzi and Alexis Christoforous. “On the multifamily side, there has been only a slight drop off in rent collections and occupancy.”

With assistance from the CARES Act, “People did very well initially. They caught up with their bills. They kept their rents current,” said Kaufman. He pointed out that earlier in the crisis, unemployment hit 14% but has dropped to approximately 8% and continues to improve.

“Our baseline on people paying rent is extraordinarily good,” he stated. Conditions are beginning to return to normal. However, Kaufman projects certain challenges still lie ahead for urban areas.

Data shows that several years ago, people began leaving cities. Millennials had started to move to the suburbs to form families, and COVID-19 has accelerated the trend. Anticipating this trend, prior to the coronavirus turbulence, Arbor focused investments in suburban properties. Now, suburban housing is seeing price appreciation and greater demand with a lack in inventory.

Kaufman advises investors to look at macro trends. Numbers have been supporting suburban growth, but having kept a keen eye on telling data such as urban mobility tracking, he nonetheless projects that cities will return to normal in the future. He anticipates young people will continue to find the allure of urban areas. A year from now, looking at metropolitan universities welcoming back students, and restaurants and offices reopening, Kaufman opined most people believe the situation will be about 95% back to normal.

“It’s going to be a very bumpy fall but I think the worst is behind us,” he said.

Watch the full Yahoo! Finance Interview here.

Learn more about Arbor’s multifamily investment solutions. Contact Arbor today to see how our products could assist your business goals.