Articles

Top States for Population Growth

Despite a national slowdown, population growth remained concentrated in a small group of states in 2025, where strong net domestic migration inflows, economic opportunity, and in some cases elevated birth rates drove the annual increases. Overall, 14 states had an annual population growth rate above 0.75%, while 12 states had less than 0.1%, according to a Chandan Economics analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2024 American Community Survey.

Articles

Arbor’s Build-to-Rent Financing: 10 Reasons to Choose a Premier Lender

Build-to-rent (BTR), a compelling solution to the U.S. housing market’s evolving needs, is experiencing record growth. BTR accounted for 8% of all single-family rental (SFR) construction starts in the 12 months that ended in the first quarter of 2024, according to Arbor’s Single-Family Rental Investment Trends Report Q2 2024. As the need for quality rental units remains high, borrowers have much to gain from partnering with an experienced lender who specializes in build-to-rent financing.

Articles

Nearly All Metros Post Positive Rent Gains

National rent growth in the single-family rental (SFR) sector remained strong and consistent in 2025 as market-level pricing momentum was broad-based and robust, according to an analysis of newly released data from the Zillow Observed Rent Index. Year-end annual rent gains averaged 2.9%, down from 4.1% in 2024, marking the most modest increase since 2015. But even as the intensity of SFR rent growth abated last year, its reach was extensive, with 98 of the 100 largest markets posting year-over-year gains.

Current Reports

Small Multifamily Investment Trends Report Q1 2026

Arbor Realty Trust’s Small Multifamily Investment Trends Report Q1 2026, developed in partnership with Chandan Economics, shows that lending activity in the sector increased for the second consecutive year amid a sharp increase in refinancings. Even with persistently high interest rates and rigorous underwriting standards, small multifamily entered the first quarter on steady footing.

Articles

Regional Multifamily Cap Rates Converge

Multifamily cap rates remain stable nationally, even as regional pricing diverged through the end of last year. While some regions saw compression and others late-stage repricing, regional cap rates show less variation as affordability-driven migration and capital reallocation compressed yield gaps.

Analysis

U.S. Multifamily Market Snapshot — February 2026

The U.S. multifamily market finished 2025 with growing optimism and resilience. Investment volume accelerated to a three-year high, bolstered by greater interest rate clarity and the tightest cap rates across major real estate sectors.

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Home | Senior Team | Michael Dragone

Michael Dragone

Senior Vice President, IT Infrastructure
Michael Dragone is responsible for Arbor’s technology infrastructure across a variety of areas including security, networking, email, and telecommunications.
 
Mr. Dragone has more than 25 years of technology industry experience and joined Arbor in 2011. Prior to Arbor, he was an IT Network Manager for title insurance company Titleserv for nearly 10 years, and before that was a Technical Analyst for Instructional Computing at St. Joseph’s University. He was also a Contributing Editor for Windows IT Pro Magazine for more than six years.
 
Mr. Dragone graduated from St. Joseph’s University with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Computer Science. He also holds several Apple and Microsoft certifications. 

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