Current Reports

Top Markets for Multifamily Investment Report Spring 2026

Arbor Realty Trust’s Top Markets for Multifamily Investment Report, developed in partnership with Chandan Economics, weighed 25 variables within 10 categories to pinpoint the large metropolitan areas that are this spring’s most attractive locations for commercial real estate investment.

Articles

Top Multifamily Markets for Eco-Friendly Commutes

In many urban areas, densely concentrated housing, strong transit networks, and walkable neighborhoods offer residents viable environmentally friendly commuting alternatives. Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, Arbor Realty Trust and Chandan Economics examined commuting patterns of workers living in multifamily rental housing in the nation’s largest metropolitan areas to identify where renters rely least on private cars to travel to the office.

Articles

Arbor Expands Mentorship Initiative with Two Spring Project Destined Programs

Arbor Realty Trust, a long-term partner of Project Destined, is once again reaffirming our commitment to the next generation of commercial real estate leaders by participating in two new programs this spring that will provide students with invaluable insight into multifamily real estate and single-family rental (SFR) financing.

Investment

Special Report Spring 2026: The State of Rental Housing

Arbor Realty Trust and Chandan Economics’ latest Special Report leverages industry-leading data analysis to interpret key multifamily real estate trends as the sector moves from recalibration to stabilization. With occupancy levels remaining strong and loan originations rebounding sharply, this biannual report outlines why now is an opportune time to deploy capital.

Articles

America’s Aging Rental Stock is Driving Demand for Smarter Capital Solutions

The nation’s rental housing is older than at any point on record, with a median age of 45 years, according to the 2026 America’s Rental Housing report from Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS). America’s aging housing stock has created unique opportunities as the need for capital investments to rehabilitate and preserve affordable housing units rapidly rises.

Current Reports

Single-Family Rental Investment Trends Report Q1 2026

Arbor’s Single-Family Rental Investment Trends Report Q1 2026, developed in partnership with Chandan Economics, spotlights how market shifts, including the rising cost of living and historically high build-to-rent activity, have fueled record rental household growth.

Articles

Top Markets for Multifamily Building Permits

Multifamily permitting trends indicate continued national stability amid local recalibration. Across the country, issuances were steady, rising just 2.6% in 2025. At the metropolitan level, trends diverged sharply, with some markets accelerating and others pulling back. Per-capita leaders continued to cluster around high-growth Sun Belt and regional hubs, while year-over-year market-level fluctuations suggest that more pipelines have become increasingly selective and, in some cases, more concentrated in large-scale projects.

General: 800.ARBOR.10

Multifamily lender Arbor Realty Trust offers $2 million rental assistance program for May and June

Arbor Realty Trust offers rental assistance program

Program allows unemployed tenants to repay rent once they’re back to work

One of Fannie Mae’s top 10 multifamily lenders, Arbor Realty Trust, has launched a $2 million rental assistance program to help tenants who’ve lost their jobs due to COVID-19. The program advances May and June rent payments and allows tenants to repay once they’re re-employed.

Focusing on tenants who live in multifamily properties financed through Arbor, the program not only fills the gap of rent for the tenants but also protects the property owners of those buildings, the company said in a statement.

“The next few months will be very difficult for many renters whose incomes have been significantly impacted by COVID-19,” Arbor’s President and CEO Ivan Kaufman said in an email to HousingWire. “We certainly realize that, and in a proactive effort to supplement government relief efforts and leverage private capital to protect the multifamily ecosystem, we created a unique program that will help thousands of the tenants across the nation.”

Here’s how the program works: Arbor is contributing $1 million to the program and participating property owners will match Arbor’s advances, dollar-for-dollar, totaling $2 million. The property owners must invest at least $10,000 and up to $100,000 in the program. Those property owners then work with their tenants to complete the online application, and the funds are on a first-come, first-serve basis.

To qualify, tenants must:
– Live in a property of an Arbor borrower who agrees to participate in the program and match Arbor’s funds
– Currently pay $2,000 or less in monthly rent
– Be in good standing with consistent on-time payments
– Submit proof of 30% income decline via an employer letter
– Provide documentation of unemployment and/or insurance benefits, government assistance and other forms of income sources

With May’s rent due in a week, an Arbor spokesman said its goal is to review the applications within 48 hours and notify the property owners so they can update the tenants. If approved, the advance payment goes to the property owner to cover the tenant’s rental payment. The tenants then have up to three years to pay back the May and June rent payments at zero interest, the spokesman said.

A company spokesman said the rental assistance program could help as many as 2,000 and 3,000 tenants.