WASHINGTON–Look for the multifamily home market to continue to grow and potentially offer more opportunities for mortgage lending for credit unions. Freddie Mac is projecting that the multifamily market will continue to grow for the rest of 2017 and into 2018, and will continue to moderate from cyclical highs as demand for rental housing units will remain relatively steady. The result, Freddie Mac said, is that origination volume is likely to hit another record in 2017 at between $270 billion and $280 billion.
In a statement, Steve Guggenmos, multifamily vice president of research and modeling with Freddie Mac, said, "In the first half of 2017 multifamily performance, by most measures, remained near the historical average in the majority of markets across the country.”
Some markets, such as San Francisco, Miami, Washington and New York City, have seen strong home construction over the past year that has helped to increase the number of vacancies and slowed the growth in rents, Freddie Mac said. But the company said that in two-thirds of metropolitan areas, by year-end vacancy rates will be below their historical averages and rents will keep rising.
"All things considered, 2017 will be yet another good year for the multifamily market,” Guggenmos said in a statement. “And, importantly, it will not be the market's last strong year. Strong demand, fueled by demographic changes and lifestyle preferences, will ensure the multifamily market's continued strength.”