While multifamily investors remain cautious amid operation and macroeconomic pressures, a growing sense of optimism also is occurring with expected improving investment conditions, moderate rental growth, and a more favorable capital markets environment.
According to Berkadia’s second annual Multifamily Investor Sentiment Survey, which captured insights from over 250 senior-level multifamily investors in January, a largely stable investment climate is anticipated in the near term with strengthening in the second half of the year and in 2027.
“Investor confidence is clearly rebuilding heading into 2026,” said Ernie Katai, executive vice president and head of production at Berkadia. “While underwriting discipline remains critical and challenges persist, improving market conditions, moderating supply, and strong long-term rental demand are creating renewed momentum across the multifamily sector.”
Here are some of the highlights from the survey:
- 72% of respondents plan to moderately expand their multifamily portfolios in 2026;
- Core-plus and value-add, both at 35%, are viewed as the most attractive risk-adjusted strategies for the year. According to Berkadia, with investors’ heightened focus on finding yield, value-add has more interest compared with recent years;
- Consistent with Berkadia’s perspective, most investors anticipate moderate rent growth from 1% to 3%;
- In the inaugural Berkadia survey last year, 48% of respondents said they found it very or somewhat difficult to make deals pencil. This year, only 1% said they are finding it very difficult. Nearly half of the respondents, 46%, said they are finding it neither easy nor difficult to make deals pencil;
- Finding deals that work, rising operating expenses, and interest rates top the lists of respondents’ leading macro challenges, while softening fundamentals as well as labor and insurance costs are the biggest operational challenges;
- The Southeast, Midwest, and Northeast are anticipated to be the top regions for multifamily investment in the coming year; and
- While there’s no shortage of liquidity in the market, the majority of respondents said they expect government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to be the most active multifamily lending sources this year, followed by banks and private funds/debt funds.