​​Top Trends Across Cushman & Wakefield’s Multifamily Portfolio​

The first half of this year has been stronger than initially anticipated within the multifamily space, as outlined in the U.S. Multifamily MarketBeat, and reflected in our third-party managed portfolio. Demand has been robust - with the national level recording the fourth strongest quarter for absorption since 2000. That's mirrored within our own portfolio where we're seeing strong inbound lead activity. This strong demand is driven by a healthy renter base. Delinquencies are declining, and when our residents move out, it is typically for reasons other than cost, such as changing jobs, buying a home or moving in with a partner. Robust demand and healthy renter finances have allowed trade outs to continue to improve from last quarter at a faster pace than initially forecasted, demonstrating solid growth as we head into the peak of summer.   

The Cushman & Wakefield Asset Services team provides third-party management services for over 182,000 units nationally, making our team one of the largest in the country. This operation generates a trove of data and analytics, which we share regularly through articles like this and our multifamily newsletter, Multifamily Digest. Because this data is proprietary to our clients, we do not share aggregate levels among most metrics, but broader trends are instructive with respect to market performance. Utilizing the data gleaned from our managed portfolio, we look back on key trends for the first half of 2024.    

Knock-Knock: Renters Are Showing Up 

Financially Healthy Renter Base Helps Drive Demand 

Within our portfolio, we see little indication that our residents are struggling to pay rent. Delinquency is down year-over-year (YOY) across all classes, and though we can’t share overall levels, it is safe to say it is hovering around pre-pandemic norms. We also see fewer residents leaving our properties because of affordability. Our data combines various reasons for moving out, such as layoffs, and none point to a significant decline in the labor force. In addition, real wage growth, which adjusts for inflation, has been positive across the U.S. since the end of 2022. Real personal consumption expenditures rose 2.4% from a year ago, which is slightly stronger than the annual average for 2023, as detailed in our Retail MarketBeat report.   

Demand Is Translating to Rent Growth 

After rebounding at the beginning of the year, lease trade outs across our portfolio have continued to push northward across all segments. Renewals have been an obvious strength through the volatility over the past 18 months, but we continue to observe an acceleration in the new lease segment, which is driving the aggregate lease trade outs up. Naturally, some markets are growing faster than others, with broad outperformance in the Northeast, Midwest and select markets like Seattle.