by Prashant Gopal | via Bloomberg.com
U.S. apartment building sales have jumped to record levels, outpacing all other forms of commercial real estate.
Deals totaled $241.9 billion in the 12 months through September, up 27% from the same period in 2019, according to a RealPage Inc. analysis of data from Real Capital Analytics Inc. going back to 2001. Apartments accounted for 44% of all transactions, the most for any commercial-property type.
Apartments Beat All
Investors are chasing apartments as leasing costs soar higher and faster than ever. Demand is high because home-purchase prices have climbed out of reach for many Americans amid a scarcity of inventory. Multifamily deals are growing fastest in sunny, relatively affordable places such as Dallas, Atlanta and Phoenix, where people are moving for jobs.
“There’s far more capital invested today than ever before,” said Jay Parsons, deputy chief economist for RealPage. “Apartments were historically undervalued — and especially Sun Belt apartments.”