Analysis

Small Multifamily Investment Snapshot — March 2025

Amid ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty, the small multifamily sector remains favorably positioned for stability as the structural need for affordable housing in the U.S. has supported the strength of the sector’s demand profile.

Articles

Top Markets for Rental Occupancy

Nationally, vacancies have risen, but the performance of rental housing is extremely localized. Out of the 75 largest U.S. metropolitan areas, the occupancy rate for all types of rental properties, including single-family rentals, 2-4 family, multifamily, and mobile homes, increased in 36 markets last year, while exceeding 95% in nearly one-third of all markets, according to an analysis of newly released U.S. Census Bureau data.[1] From Grand Rapids, MI, to Columbia, SC, the top markets for rental occupancy show where conditions are tightest and demand is strongest.

Current Reports

Single-Family Rental Investment Trends Report Q1 2025

Arbor’s Single-Family Rental Investment Trends Report Q1 2025, published in partnership with Chandan Economics, is an up-close look at the single-family rental (SFR) sector as it enters a period of normalcy after explosive pandemic-era growth. SFR maintains its balance with the support of a healthy set of fundamentals while capital markets rebound and rent growth moderates.

Articles

Small Multifamily Price Growth Trends Show Stabilization

Small multifamily price growth trends indicate a stabilization may be ready to take hold. Expanding on the findings of Arbor’s latest Small Multifamily Investment Trends Report, our research teams more closely examined valuations to determine if trends in pricing and other fundamentals are supporting a turnaround.

Articles

SFR Rent Growth: Top Markets and Leading Regions

Elevated mortgage interest rates and high home prices boosted demand for single-family rentals (SFR) last year, supporting the growth of rents in almost all of the 100 largest metropolitan areas. Pricing momentum, which averaged 4.5% nationally, was concentrated in affordable markets in the Northeast and Midwest, an analysis of Zillow’s Observed Rent Index data shows.

Articles

Build-to-Rent’s Robust Activity Settles into Stable Pattern

Increasingly, single-family rental (SFR) operators have been relying on build-to-rent (BTR) development to satisfy their inventory needs. The popularity of BTR communities made economies of scale possible for the SFR sector in the recovery after the 2007 housing crisis and continues to fill a housing need nationwide. Now, newly released U.S. Census Bureau data shows that SFR development activity remained robust even as its momentum slowed, moving the sector into a more stable equilibrium.

Articles

Advancing Sustainability in CRE Finance in a Shifting Landscape

With political headwinds reshaping the corporate responsibility landscape, commercial real estate (CRE) leaders, policymakers, and academics recently gathered in New York City for the NYU Stern Chen Institute for Global Real Estate Finance’s 3rd Annual Symposium on Innovation & Sustainable Real Estate to discuss the future of sustainable real estate finance, investment, operations, and technology. In a series of panel discussions, industry leaders offered their perspectives on how sustainability is evolving in a new political environment and why green policies still make business sense.

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Research Reports

Special Reports

from Arbor & Chandan Economics
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A biannual economic analysis and accompanying commentary from Arbor’s Chairman and CEO Ivan Kaufman and Chandan Economics Founder Sam Chandan. This special series provides unparalleled insight into the housing market from two of the industry’s foremost thought leaders.

Special Report Archives

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After a year of steady growth, favorable trends put wind in the sector’s sails, giving rise to budding optimism. With the economic landscape shifting, the rental housing market’s resilient performance over the past two years provides a solid foundation for continued growth.
Even with the market in flux, opportunities continue emerging for well-positioned investors. Historically, some of the best multifamily deals were closed in down cycles or during the upswing to normalcy. Arbor’s Special Report Fall 2024 details why the current economic climate is ripe for investment.

Recalibrating Amid Uncertainty By Ivan Kaufman and Sam Chandan Key Findings Despite a slowdown in new investment, the macro economy has outperformed expectations in 2023, indicating a soft landing is more likely. A yield curve normalization could place additional upward pressure on long-term interest rates and cap rates into 2024.

The rental housing sector is well-insulated but not immune to market forces even as the economy edges into correction territory, Arbor Chairman and CEO Ivan Kaufman and Chandan Economics Founder Sam Chandan demonstrate in the findings of Arbor’s Special Report Spring 2023.
As we turn past 2022’s halfway mark, optimism surrounding the U.S. economy’s expansion has dimmed. An erosion of household spending power, spiking financial volatility, declining consumer sentiment, and now consecutive quarters of negative growth are all combining to depress the near-term outlook.
The emergence of the Omicron variant in the last days of 2021 cast a dark cloud over the new year’s global economic outlook. Quickly reintroducing limits on mobility, governments worldwide hope to stem the spread of the new threat. The impacts on international trade and the supply chain are simultaneously