SVN State of the Market Report
Multifamily
SVN® ANNUAL STATE OF THE MARKET REPORTS offer a comprehensive analysis of the commercial real estate landscape, offering insights into the performance of four key asset types and the broader macroeconomic environment.
NATIONAL OVERVIEW
As was the case across all commercial real estate verticals, including
the apartment sector, 2023 was a challenging market environment. The monetary policy tightening cycle initiated by the Federal Reserve in 2022 continued throughout 2023, with four rate hikes coming last year alone. Given the pace and severity at which the capital cost landscape has shifted, the gaps between what buyers are willing to pay and what sellers are willing to accept have grown substantially — leading to an absence of deal activity. According to MSCI Real Capital Analytics data, last year experienced the fewest apartment assets changed hands nationally since 2011.
While the short-term financials proved challenging for deal-making, the long-term fundamentals of the apartment sector strengthened. Due to a mix of shifting household preferences and a drop off in affordable access to home ownership, more Americans are renting now than at any point in history. According to The US Census Bureau, the number of occupied renter households increased by 514,000 in 2023.