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

Brian Scharf

Managing Director, Sales
Headshot of Brian Scharf

Brian Scharf is responsible for originating multifamily and commercial loans through Arbor’s product lines, including Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA, SFR Construction and Permanent Portfolio Loans, CMBS, Private Label, Bridge, Mezzanine and Preferred Equity. Based in Arbor’s headquarters location in Uniondale, Long Island, he brings over 20 years of experience in the commercial real estate finance industry, spanning positions in origination, underwriting and asset management.

Mr. Scharf joined Arbor in 2009 and was promoted to Managing Director in 2021. He consistently produces the highest levels of client satisfaction across borrowers and intermediaries and has built a well-diversified, nationwide clientele, closing more than 500 loans with a total notional value exceeding $8B.

Prior to Arbor, Mr. Scharf served as a Senior Associate of Real Estate Finance at Hypo Real Estate International, where he originated and underwrote construction and permanent loans. He began his career at Credit Suisse, where he ascended from analyst to AVP of Asset Management for their Real Estate Opportunity Fund, personally securing and structuring more than $3B of financing across all levels of the capital stack.

Mr. Scharf graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park with a Bachelor of Science in Finance. He lives in Jericho, NY with his wife and two children.

[email protected] | 516.506.4253
Uniondale, NY

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