2024 NMHC Annual Meeting: Top Takeaways

The 2024 NMHC Annual Meeting was held this week at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego, California. The annual meeting is one of the multi-family industry’s premier events and is widely attended by industry leaders. This year’s keynote speaker was Ambassador Susan Rice. The following are our team’s takeaways from the annual event.

• Interest rates are top of mind for all market participants. Most panels expressed that higher for longer is the most likely scenario, and sponsors across the board are prepping their deals accordingly.
• There is universal concern over the “wall of maturities” and increased regulatory pressure, especially on banks subject to Basel III regulations.
• Most felt transaction volume has already increased in Q1, though total expectations were tempered to around 15-25% in volume year over year.
• 2023 was slower for all market participants, though private-client smaller deals were more active than institutions.
• Multifamily owners are experiencing rent growth stalls and even rent declines in certain markets. Compared to past rapid double-digit rent growth, this market behavior is natural and acceptable.
• Investors actively seek value-add opportunities and are more focused on fundamentals than ever.
• While the apartment market does face many challenges, demand is not one of them. Net absorption was up significantly in 2023 in comparison to the 3 years prior.
• ​​​Housing affordability is a nationwide issue, not just a California problem.