National Multifamily Report – December 2019
Despite another slight drop in December, year-over-year growth remained between 3 and 3.3 percent for all 12 months.
The multifamily market ended 2019 with a flat fourth quarter, however, keeping consistent with year-over-year growth staying between 3 and 3.3 percent for all 12 months. Much like November, December showed a drop in rent growth, falling $1 to $1,474 and dropping 10 basis points. Year-over-year rent growth was at its lowest level, at 3 percent, since May 2018 when it was at 2.9 percent.
Despite this, the healthy job market and the unemployment rate of 3.5 percent helped produce steady absorption, with the occupancy rate of stabilized properties hitting 94.9 percent, according to a Yardi Matrix survey of 127 markets.
In terms of metro performance, the leader of the pack again was Phoenix, showing an increase of 7.7 percent in rent growth. Following that was Las Vegas with 5.4 percent, Sacramento with 5.1 percent, Nashville up 5 percent and Raleigh increasing 4.3 percent. According to the report, Phoenix and Las Vegas have topped the rent growth ranking for a whopping 16 months.
When it came to multifamily lending, “Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continue to be the leading providers, but the CMBS market came on strong in the second half of 2019,” stated the report. Nearly $168 billion in loans from all sources originated during the first six months of the year, putting the market on track to meet the 2018 record of $338 billion. The GSE’s accounted for 39 percent of that volume, still remaining the largest source of debt.
To read the full report, visit the Yardi Matrix website.
