Freddie Mac Multifamily Midyear Outlook Projects Higher Rents, Fewer Vacancies, and Greater Market Sales Activity

On Monday, July 26, 2021, Freddie Mac Multifamily, the nation’s multifamily housing finance leader, released its Multifamily Midyear Outlook (MMO). The MMO reports that demand for multifamily housing is now ahead of pre-pandemic levels. As a result, the MMO is projecting higher rents, falling vacancies, and a record-setting originations market in the remainder of 2021.

The MMO’s findings are supported by ongoing strength across the Sun Belt and Midwestern markets, and with the larger coastal markets starting to see a gradual recovery from the pandemic-driven downturn. With investment activity picking up steam, Freddie Mac now projects that overall multifamily origination volume will continue to rise in the second half of 2021, growing to within the record-setting range of between $385 billion to $410 billion over the full year.

In a statement prepared for the release of the midyear MMO, Steve Guggenmos, Freddie Mac’s vice president for multifamily research and modeling said, “We believe that the multifamily market will continue to grow in the second half of 2021 as the country and the economy rebuild after the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Larger gateway markets continue to feel the impact of the pandemic, such as New York City and San Francisco, but the majority of markets will continue to see rent growth through the rest of 2021. Underlying demand drivers will support strong multifamily market fundamentals and have set a foundation for continued growth as economic conditions improve.”