Carl Whitaker, Senior Manager – Market Analytics with Real Page, joins America’s Commercial Real Estate Show to discuss the current state and future of the multifamily sector. Carl starts by noting that rent growth is near 20% year over year nationally. He moves on to note that occupancy is running 97% and even increased from December to January, the first time ever his company has recorded an increase for those months.
In 2021, 674,000 apartment units were absorbed, beating a prior record of absorption by a whopping 60%. Even challenged markets, he noted are experiencing double digit rent growth. His company has been surprised at how quick the central business district markets have come back.
Real Page is still forecasting strong rent growth but not like 21. Affordability is a hot topic at Real Page, but Carl thinks this concern may be overstated, noting that rent to income over past year is 23%, not too far out of line with what REITs are reporting. This is less than I think most would think.
This is an excellent and highly informative video for anyone interested in multifamily property investing.