US Multifamily REIT Metrics: 2016–2025

Overview

US multifamily REIT metrics provide transparent and detailed chronological information on the current apartment real estate cycle. Starting in 2016, multifamily was a steady performer: national occupancy near 93%, asking rents rising 2 to 3% a year, and the public apartment REITs in the CRE42 composite trading near a 21x gross NOI multiple. In 2021, near-zero interest rates and an 8.8% national rent surge lifted apartment values 31% in a single year and the composite multiple to 28x. A record supply wave followed with deliveries peaking near 3.5% of national stock in 2024. Rents flattened starting in 2022, and national vacancy rose to 8.5%, although the CRE42 REIT composite portfolio stayed roughly 95% occupied.

Combining the CRE42 Multifamily REIT composite (stabilized-TEV-weighted) with inflation statistics from the US government and market data from CoStar and Green Street, we are able to trace clearly the apartment cycle's distinct path: a rate-driven boom and bust layered over durable demand, with the supply wave now receding.