After the volume of multifamily permits fell nationally in 2023 and 2024, this year is on pace to be a year of stabilization for multifamily development. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, out of the top 100 largest U.S. metros by population, 47 had more multifamily permits through the first six months of 2025 than they did over the same period last year. Driven by strong underlying multifamily demand, attractive investment opportunities are leading to rebounding construction pipelines. As multifamily permitting rises, we explore the markets where new permits issued are most concentrated and where construction activity is gaining momentum.
Research Reports
Top Markets for Multifamily Investment
from Arbor & Chandan Economics
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Arbor’s Top Markets for Multifamily Investment series provides a cross-market performance comparison of the top 50 metros in the U.S. Published annually, these reports reveal the leading metros in the U.S. for large multifamily investment in categories such as population growth, labor market performance, and renter demographics.
Large Multifamily Investment Archives
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Even as macroeconomic uncertainties persist nationally, many large metropolitan markets have made positive gains this year.
In an otherwise uneven economic environment, multifamily real estate and other investment classes adept at absorbing inflationary pressures have outperformed the rest.
With elevated interest rates and volatility becoming the new normal, the risk vs. opportunity assessments of individual markets have shifted as domestic migration and insurance market corrections have changed the calculus.
With interest rate pressure easing, quality multifamily investment opportunities have emerged from coast to coast, making identifying the optimal location essential.
The U.S. economy continued its path back to health through the third quarter of 2021. As of the second-quarter estimate of annualized real gross domestic product (GDP), the economy is now 0.9% larger than it was before the onset of the pandemic.
The U.S. economy was gliding into 2020 along a path of consistent yet unspectacular growth. After more than a decade of expansion, multifamily asset pricing remained exceptionally tight, with investors searching for yield in secondary and tertiary markets.