Pandemic-related household growth and economic impacts resulted in a complicated 2022 for the multifamily industry. An extremely tight market in the first quarter of 2022 yielded to slower rent growth and higher vacancy rates in the second half of the year.
These tumultuous market conditions produced some notable changes in the top NMHC 50 owners list, including this year’s No. 1 owner. Collectively, the NMHC 50 owners control 10.1 percent of the total U.S. apartment stock; the NMHC 50 managers oversee 18 percent of the nation’s apartments. This market share held by top owners and managers has remained relatively unchanged over recent years.
“While 2022 was something of a confusing year for multifamily businesses, the reality continues to be that the nation needs more housing supply,” said Sharon Wilson Géno, NMHC President. “The underlying fundamentals point to greater demand over the coming years, and we need more housing of all types to lower housing costs and expand availability.
“A high interest rate environment, supply chain constraints, still high labor and material costs, and complex and expensive regulatory barriers continue to restrict the development of badly needed housing. We are building more than we have recently, but it is still not enough. Research has found that the U.S. faces a pressing need to build 4.3 million new apartments by 2035. Lawmakers of both parties and all levels of government should consider reforms and legislation that encourage the creation of more rental homes.”
The long-term consistency of the NMHC 50 lists show the important role these firms play for a portion of the overall rental market and demonstrates why investors of all types continue to look for opportunities in this industry.
Top line takeaways from this year’s survey
- Top Owner: MAA (headquartered in Germantown, TN) with 99,676 apartment homes owned.
- Top Manager: Greystar Real Estate Partners (headquartered in Charleston, SC) with 726,826 apartments under management.
- Top Developer: Alliance Residential (headquartered in Scottsdale, AZ) with 13,480 apartments started in 2022.
- Top Contractor: Summit Contracting Group, Inc. (headquartered in Jacksonville, FL) with 14,184 apartments started in 2022.
- Top Syndicator: Boston Financial Investment Management, LP (headquartered in Boston) with a portfolio of 167,957 syndicated apartment units.
Additional industry and NMHC 50 Highlights
- 2,424,155 – Number of total units owned by NMHC 50 top owners, representing 10.1 percent of the total U.S. apartment stock.
- 4,384,083 – Number of units collectively managed by NMHC 50 top managers.
- 149,495 – Number of units started by NMHC 25 top builders in 2022.
- 132,093 – Number of units started by NMHC 25 top developers in 2022.
- 95.7 percent – 2022 apartment occupancy rate.
- 4.3 million – Number of apartment homes that need to be built by 2035 to meet demand.
This is the 34th annual edition of the NMHC 50 rankings. All apartment developers and builders are invited to answer a survey questionnaire that asks about their prior year’s activities, while apartment owners, managers and syndicators are asked to report their portfolio holdings (either owned, managed or syndicated) as of January 1, 2023.
