High Homebuying Costs and Huge Apartment Demand

Rental housing continues its extreme affordability compared to homebuying costs; apartment absorption has skyrocketed to levels close to the heady, white-hot apartment market of 2021; and multifamily construction activity is lower, coming into balance with demand. Despite the positive implications of these trends for multifamily investors, apartment sales activity remains relatively low, and rent growth is also below historical averages.Sources discussed in this episode:NAR: “Housing Affordability and Supply: Supply Went Up. Affordability Didn’t.” - https://www.nar.realtor/research-and-statistics/research-reports/housing-affordability-and-supply RealPage: “Apartment Transactions Ease in 2025’s 1st Quarter” - https://www.realpage.com/analytics/apartment-transactions-1q-2025/ Newmark: “United States Multifamily Capital Markets Report” - https://www.nmrk.com/insights/market-report/united-states-multifamily-capital-markets-report RealPage: “Rent Growth Evident in Markets Past Peak Supply Volumes” - https://www.realpage.com/analytics/rents-supply-peak-apartment-markets/ Marcus & Millichap: “Understanding Today’s CRE Distress Landscape” - https://www.marcusmillichap.com/research/videos/understanding-todays-cre-distress-landscape CRED iQ: “CRED iQ’s Special Servicing Rate Reaches 9.9%” - https://cred-iq.com/blog/2025/05/09/cred-iqs-special-servicing-rate-reaches-9-9/ Trepp: “Special Servicing Rate Inches Upward in April 2025, Mainly Driven by Lodging” - https://www.trepp.com/trepptalk/special-servicing-rate-inches-upward-in-april-2025 Bisnow: “'Big, Beautiful Bill' Could Preempt State, Local Bans On Rent-Setting Algorithms” - https://www.bisnow.com/national/news/multifamily/federal-wolf-in-sheeps-clothing-bill-could-preempt-state-local-bans-on-rent-setting-algorithms-129400 Download Gray Capital's latest report: ⁠https://www.graycapitalllc.com/midwest-report/⁠Sign up for our free multifamily newsletter here: ⁠https://www.graycapitalllc.com/newsletter⁠ DISCLAIMERS: This podcast does not constitute professional financial advice and is for educational/entertainment purposes only. This podcast is not an offer to invest. Any offering would be made through a private placement memorandum and would be limited to accredited investors.