As housing costs spiral, rental affordability has become a more urgent issue, burdening a greater number of Americans. Arbor’s Affordable Housing Trends Report Spring 2024, developed in partnership with Chandan Economics, examines the major policies and programs shaping the marketplace at a time when overdue federal funding expansions have increased agency budgets.
In front of professionals and executives from more than 120 companies at the Real Estate Pride Roundtable in New York City in April, dozens of speakers shared honest perspectives on how far the commercial real estate industry has come on LGBTQ+ inclusion and how much more it has to go.
Lifestyle renters — those who have the means to own but prefer to rent or are willing to pay more for apartments with amenities — have become a key driver of rental demand in single-family rental homes, build-to-rent communities, and other types of high-quality multifamily housing. With this small yet influential demographic growing, our research teams examine and explain the factors driving lifestyle renter demand.
On balance, the SFR sector continues to demonstrate strength amid economic turmoil, attracting increased attention from the broader multifamily investment community.
With nearly one-fifth of multifamily properties now over 65 years old, it’s time to consider solutions for rejuvenating the rental housing stock in the U.S. While building rehabs are a tried-and-true solution, build-to-rent (BTR) is an alternative that is well-positioned to expand as Americans increasingly favor renting over homeownership.
In a year when inflation and elevated interest rates weakened affordability, the rental housing sector strengthened and expanded. An analysis of newly released U.S. Census Bureau Housing Vacancies and Homeownership data shows the number of rental households climbed in 2023.
The first quarter opens a new chapter for the small multifamily market after a year where the subsector demonstrated its strength and resiliency amid stiff economic headwinds.
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Units
St. Louis
Year Built
Experienced multifamily owners were looking for a refinance on a 314-unit apartment community located in the St. Louis metro area. The sponsors originally built the property in two phases, in 2003 and 2009, as a condo development. However, due to softening in the condo market, a portion of the unsold units were operated as multifamily. The sponsors bought back the sold condo units in 2018 to operate the whole community as multifamily rentals.
Arbor assisted the sponsors with securing a bridge loan in 2019 for the completion of renovations and stabilization of the property, which was only at half occupancy at the time. As of June 2020, the property reached over 90% occupancy and the borrowers were ready to refinance due to the increased value of the asset. The borrowers have a long-term relationship with Arbor and Fannie Mae, so they were comfortable working with Arbor to secure the right financing for their investment needs.
Arbor’s underwriting and originations departments were tasked with demonstrating the sponsors’ continued commitment to the property. Arbor was able to point to the borrowers’ nearly two decades of ownership, local market expertise and investment in improving the asset’s quality and occupancy, which helped support the agency requirement that the borrower possess strong experience and a proven track record.
Arbor executed a 15-year fixed-rate loan under the Fannie Mae DUS® loan program. As a result of the transaction, the borrowers were able to refinance at a low interest rate.