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EQR's CIO Brackenridge to retire
This story was originally published on Multifamily Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Multifamily Dive newsletter. Equity Residential announced that Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer Alexander Brackenridge will transition to executive vice president of investments and retire at the end of 2025, according to a news release. Executive Vice President and CFO Robert A. Garechana will assume the role of executive vice president and chief investment officer. Garechana, who joined in 2004, has served as its CFO and a member of its executive and investment committees since September 2018. 'Bob has proven himself to be a talented and dynamic leader and we look forward to him continuing to advance our capital allocation strategy alongside the rest of our experienced investments team,' Mark J. Parrell, EQR's president and CEO, said in the news release. Bret D. McLeod will join the Chicago-based REIT, the nation's fifth-largest apartment owner, in July as executive vice president of finance and assume the role of CFO on Aug. 7. McLeod currently serves as executive vice president and CFO of Great Wolf Resorts. Prior to Great Wolf, McLeod served as CFO for Citycon, a publicly listed owner of Nordic shopping centers, and spent nearly 15 years at Host Hotels & Resorts, serving most recently as senior vice president, treasurer, head of strategy and investor relations. 'Bret brings a wealth of skills and experiences from outside the residential space to our Company and we look forward to him leading our finance team and advancing transformational initiatives across the company,' Parrell said in the news release. Brackenridge joined the Chicago-based REIT in 1993 and has served as CIO since September 2020. 'I have been fortunate to call Alec a colleague and a friend for more than two decades,' Parrell said in the news release. 'We are tremendously grateful to him for his many contributions to Equity Residential's success and wish him the very best in his retirement.' EQR is making changes to its investment team as it sees an opportunity to add properties in its expansion Sun Belt markets. In May, the firm announced that it agreed to purchase eight properties, totaling 2,064 units, in Atlanta for $535 million. 'We think our best opportunity [versus buying back stock and developing] continues to be investing in existing assets in these primary acquisition markets of Dallas, Denver and Atlanta,' Parrell said on EQR's earnings call in late April. 'We're still interested in Austin, but there's such a glut of supply, it's probably a little bit later for us to complete our portfolio there.' EQR is the second major apartment REIT to announce a CFO hire in the past week. On July 23, UDR, the country's 15th-largest apartment owner, hired Dave Bragg as its new CFO. Bragg succeeds Joe Fisher, who was appointed chief investment officer in January in addition to his responsibilities as the REIT's president. Click here to sign up to receive multifamily and apartment news like this article in your inbox every weekday. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
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7 days ago
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NAHB: Multifamily construction migrates to less populous areas
This story was originally published on Multifamily Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Multifamily Dive newsletter. Apartment growth is shifting to counties with lower population densities, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders Home Building Geography Index for the first quarter of 2025, released earlier this month. The market share of apartment starts in large metro core counties continued a long-term downward trend. In 2016, it was 45.1%. Since then, it has fallen 9.4 percentage points to a 35.5% share, the lowest level since the HBGI's inception. HBGI is a quarterly measurement of building conditions across the country. It uses county-level information about single-family and multifamily permits to gauge housing construction growth in various urban and rural geographies. NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz told Multifamily Dive that the HBGI has shown a significant drop in construction for large metro core counties, flat starts for large suburbs, growth for exurbs, solid growth for small metro core and large percentage gains (although still small shares) for rural areas over the past nine years. 'For migration in general, since COVID, there's been a broader shift for multifamily construction moving out, in terms of market share, to lower-density geographies, which are in turn more affordable,' Dietz told Multifamily Dive. The market share for core counties of large metro areas fell three percentage points in Q1. That decline led to a rise for all other urban and rural geographic areas during the year's first three months. There isn't just one catalyst behind the movement of construction to less-dense areas. With a strong need for affordable, attainable housing, Dietz said that the 'multifamily market is exhibiting strength in lower-cost areas where housing supply can more readily expand.' Demographic trends are also a factor. The percentage of renters age 30 or older is 72%, an all-time high, according to John Burns Research & Consulting. 'The older renters want maybe more of a suburban life versus urban,' Eric Finnigan, vice president of demographics research at the Irvine, California-based firm, told Multifamily Dive. Capital is also a major player in the drive to build further out. Charleston, South Carolina-based apartment developer Woodfield Development doesn't push beyond the exurbs, but founding partner Greg Bonifield sees equity chasing what he calls a basis play with other developers. Area Q1 2016 Q1 2025 Large Metro - Core County 45.1% 35.5% Large Metro - Suburban County 26.2% 25.7% Large Metro - Outlying Areas 3.0% 4.7% Small Metro - Core County 18.8% 24.1% Small Metro - Outlying County 3.2% 5.1% Micro County 2.9% 3.7% Non-Metro/Micro County 0.8% 1.2% SOURCE: NAHB 'There are buckets of money out there that want to deploy into new construction if they can hit a certain basis per unit,' Bonifield told Multifamily Dive. Land costs are one key element driving up costs, so it makes sense that developers would start moving to less dense areas where dirt is typically cheaper. 'On the basis play, the further you go out, you can build a product at a lower cost, which is what a fair amount of capital is focused on doing,' Bonifield said. Click here to sign up to receive multifamily and apartment news like this article in your inbox every weekday. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
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7 days ago
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Utah-based firm mixes hospitality with multifamily
This story was originally published on Multifamily Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Multifamily Dive newsletter. For the executives at PEG, navigating construction has been especially difficult over the past couple of years. The Provo, Utah-based real estate firm doesn't just develop and operate apartments. It also builds, owns and manages hotels and build-to-rent properties. The firm works with major hotel brands, like Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt. 'In developing those types of products, it's been tough to make deals pencil, even for the last couple of years, just because of the increase in costs and interest rates,' PEG Executive Chairman Cameron Gunter told Multifamily Dive. 'Having this uncertainty on tariffs has caused us even bigger issues.' Right now, PEG has two multifamily projects in development, with one in Tucson, Arizona, slated to open later this year. The firm is trying to mitigate the impact of tariffs by planning ahead. 'We bought a bunch of our cabinets out of China,' Gunter told Multifamily Dive. 'So we took our first shipment as we started to see this issue on tariffs. We haven't installed it, but it's all stored on property.' PEG is also working with its contractors to try to share the cost burden on tariffs. 'I can create contingencies where they have it as part of their [guaranteed maximum price] and we use that contingency to cover any tariffs based on the general contractor piece,' Gunter said. 'If it goes over that, there's a responsibility. If it comes under that, there's a shared savings clause.' Here, Gunter talks with Multifamily Dive about tariffs as well as labor costs, customer service and centralization. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity. CAMERON GUNTER: We were getting super excited that we were going to start to see costs stabilize and potentially even come down. There has not been a lot built. Now you have a bunch of projects burning off for subcontractors. What we've seen is a lot more subcontractors bidding projects and willing to take a lower rate. Before, they were increasing their margins, and you didn't have as many bidders. On top of that, we're seeing energy costs coming down. So many things — the cost of fuels and energy — impact construction. So those are all positive. Now we see this tariff issue, which then creates additional uncertainty. Contracts are now pricing with a contingency in costs. If we can get some certainty around it, I think it will be easier for us to figure out if we move forward with any development. But as we see that instability and potential rising construction costs, it creates an opportunity on the acquisition side because we can acquire much lower than replacement costs. I think it does kill deals. With that uncertainty, you can't make it pencil, with what Treasury is, with what [the Secured Overnight Financing Rate] is and what your interest cost is. If we saw some stabilization or even a slight decline in construction costs from what we've seen over the last few years, that would make sense for us to move forward because we could start penciling a return that makes sense. But until we see that or we wait a couple of years to see rents start to climb more than what they have, then it's tough to make it work. Now, are there deals that make sense? Yeah, but they're few and far between. You've got to have some kind of incentive, whether it's city incentives or some density bonus. But they're going to require some affordability. As we look at what's happening with the people that are staying in our hotels and the people that are staying in our apartments, it is Gen Z. It's really about the experience and what we can provide in our properties from a service standpoint that gives them experience. With the asset itself, we're providing self spas and providing different amenity spaces in our properties. We have to figure out how AI can help us get our people away from doing the minutia as well as save costs. Where we're going to win and get the returns we need from an operations standpoint is to reduce our costs and provide that better service. A lot of it is centralization — having our data and business intelligence folks be able to figure out how to provide real-time data to our people without having to enter our stuff in. So anytime our apartment manager does not have to enter a bunch of stuff, whether it be leases, whether it be looking at turnover or looking at other markets, it's a win. If we can provide that stuff real time to them, they can make the decisions quicker and they don't have to be in front of a computer. And it's the same in our hotels. They have more staff at a hotel because you're turning over quicker. But we should be treating our guests and our tenants the same. We should be providing that level of service that makes them want to stay in the property and not leave. Click here to sign up to receive multifamily and apartment news like this article in your inbox every weekday. Recommended Reading UDR plans to back off of high occupancy to boost rents Sign in to access your portfolio
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7 days ago
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Renter competition tightens nationwide for apartments
This story was originally published on Multifamily Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Multifamily Dive newsletter. The nation's apartment market is only getting more competitive for renters, despite a peak in new deliveries last year, according to RentCafe's annual analysis. RentCafe rates the country's Rental Competitive Index at 74.6 out of a possible 100, up from 73.4 in early 2024. New apartment deliveries have begun to pull back, with new supply rising only slightly to 0.72% of the total stock — not enough to meet demand, according to the report. Each existing vacant unit now has an average of nine renters competing for it, up from eight in 2024. At the same time, lease renewals are rising, meaning more renters have decided to stay put in the last year than the previous year. The lease renewal rate stands at 63.8%, up from 62.4%, and the average time a household spends in a unit has risen to 29 months. RentCafe bases its RCI on five data points — new apartment construction in the past year, number of prospective renters, lease renewal rates, occupancy and days until a vacant apartment is leased. Miami not only remains the nation's hottest rental market, but has become even more competitive in the past year, moving up 2.6 points to 96.7 on the RCI — 22 points above the national average and more than ten points ahead of any other market. Market Competitiveness score Occupancy rate Prospective renters per vacant unit Share of new housing units in stock 96.7 96.6% 21 0.40% 85.1 95.6% 14 0.14% 85.0 95.2% 14 0.82% 83.9 96.1% 18 0.30% 81.7 94.9% 11 0.10% 81.7 95.9% 11 0.15% 81.1 95.0% 13 0.23% 80.6 95.3% 9 0.32% 80.6 94.7% 12 0.05% 80.6 96.7% 12 0.61% SOURCE: RentCafe Vacant apartments in Miami fill within an average of 36 days — 10 days shorter than the national average — and draw 21 competing renters on average. Lease renewals have risen to 74.7% from 73.4% in early 2024, while occupancy has grown only slightly, up from 96.5% to 96.6%. Suburban Chicago comes in a distant second for competitiveness, up from the No. 4 spot last year — even though its RCI has fallen slightly from 85.3 to 85.1. Overall, Midwest markets maintain a strong presence in the top 20, driven by a mix of strong job opportunities and affordability, according to the report. The wildfires in Los Angeles earlier this year had a significant tightening effect on its rental market, as many residents were displaced and in need of new housing, according to the report. Lease renewals rose 5.1% over the past year, up to 58%, while the number of competing renters per unit has risen from 14 to 18. New deliveries in the area were already limited, with only 0.3% new supply growth in the past year. Demand remains high in Silicon Valley as tech workers return to the office, according to the report. Occupancy has risen to 95.3% in areas like Mountain View, Palo Alto and Cupertino, California, and each unit attracts an average of 12 prospective renters and leases in 39 days. Out of the top 20 most competitive markets in the nation, 15 have a lower share of new apartments in their total stock than the national average. However, only one — Pittsburgh, at No. 20 — had no new deliveries at all in the past year. Recommended Reading Survey says operators should focus on community over frills
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13-06-2025
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Cityview opens New York City office
This story was originally published on Multifamily Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Multifamily Dive newsletter. Earlier this week, Cityview announced its expansion into the Eastern U.S. by opening a New York City office headed by Christoph Donner, the firm's global head of capital development and strategy and former CEO of PIMCO Prime Real Estate LLC. The Los Angeles-based real estate investment manager intends to strategically expand its investment and capital-raising strategy beyond its existing Western and Southwestern U.S. markets into the East Coast. Cityview also plans to pursue acquisition opportunities in Boston; Orlando, Florida; and Atlanta. In the future, it is targeting Raleigh, North Carolina, and Charleston, South Carolina, according to a news release. To determine where to expand, Cityview partnered with RCLCO Real Estate Consulting to identify high-potential markets for multifamily investment based on historical performance, current fundamentals and forward-looking economic forecasts based on 55 key data points. 'Cityview has historically focused on supply-constrained markets on the West Coast, and in recent years we've diversified our strategy to include more demand-driven centers across the Southwestern U.S., including Dallas and Phoenix,' said Sean Burton, CEO of Cityview, in a news release. 'Now, we're expanding nationally with a strategic move into East Coast markets that show strong fundamentals and are poised for future growth.' The key drivers in Cityview's expansion markets are: Boston's high level of professional employment and education, which creates a stable foundation for demand, according to Cityview. New deliveries in the metro are low relative to demand and projected future supply. Orlando's strong positive exposure to demand and relatively small negative exposure to supply, according to Cityview. The firm says the market's strong employment and population growth and its business-friendly environment help drive its strong performance. Atlanta's employment and population growth, which drove demand in the market higher than many of its peers, according to Cityview. In addition, the metro ranked first in average annual return over the past decade and in the top five for average yearly sales volume. Cityview has also been active recently in its current investment markets. In the first quarter, it acquired four assets and recapitalized one property. Last December, the firm bought Candela, a 112-unit value-add in the Hollywood Hills and Franklin Village neighborhood of Los Angeles. It paid Raintree Partners $36 million for the asset. 'Well-located multifamily assets are poised to become even more desirable over the next five years as new multifamily construction starts have ground to a halt, making 2025 a prime opportunity to acquire existing product at today's basis,' Burton told Multifamily Dive in January. Click here to sign up to receive multifamily and apartment news like this article in your inbox every weekday. Recommended Reading Greystar joins the direct financing fray Sign in to access your portfolio
