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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Home | Management Team | Brian Murphy

Brian Murphy

Managing Director, Residential

Brian Murphy is responsible for all Capital Markets activities related to Arbor’s Single-Family Rental (SFR) Portfolio program including loan pricing, hedging and financing strategy. He works closely with the SFR underwriting team and Chief Investment Officer on the credit parameters for the various SFR loan products. Mr. Murphy was promoted to Managing Director at Arbor in 2023.

Prior to joining Arbor, Mr. Murphy was a Vice President, Capital Markets, for more than three years at CoreVest American Finance, where his responsibilities included pricing various SFR loan products, managing whole loan sales and evaluating securitization strategy and execution. Prior to CoreVest, Mr. Murphy spent more than 15 years in the residential mortgage finance industry, including positions at Nomura Securities, Credit Suisse and Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette.

Mr. Murphy has a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Harvard University.

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