Dive Brief:
- Starwood Capital Group claimed the top spot on the 2022 National Multifamily Housing Council Top 50 owners list, after gaining more than 25,000 units last year.
- MAA, the Memphis-based REIT, is now No. 2 for the first time since 2017, followed by Morgan Properties, based in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. MAA lost 488 units, while Morgan added just 3,490.
- New in the Top 5: Greystar Real Estate Partners, the top manager in the country over the last decade and this year's top developer. The Charleston, South Carolina-based company leaped over Chicago-based REIT Equity Residential. Nuveen Real Estate, based in New York, also jumped into the Top 10 with 10,000 more units.
Dive Insight:
In a record-breaking year for apartment acquisition, Starwood stood out. The company's 115,056 units were the most owned by one company since the NMHC removed tax syndicators from the list in 2017. But they still pale in comparison to 265,620 apartments that Denver-based AIMCO (now known as AIR Communities) owned in 2001.
Philadelphia-based Independence Realty Trust made its first appearance on the Top 50 at No. 31 after picking up more than 20,000 units last year.
After gaining more than 14,000 apartments, New York-based Olayan Group also entered the Top 50.
Other companies moving onto the list after not appearing in 2021 were: Cleveland-based Millenia Cos., Austin, Texas-based CWS Capital Partners, Boston-based Berkshire Residential, Atlanta-based Carroll and Chicago-based Waterton.
Very few top companies posted portfolio declines in 2021. Hartford, Connecticut-based UBS Realty Advisors owned about 3,500 fewer units and San Diego-based Fairfield Residential tallied around 3,000 fewer units.
The REITs, typical powerhouses on the list, posted modest gains in 2021. Arlington, Virginia-based AvalonBay Communities, No. 4, gained about 100 units. Chicago-based Equity Residential picked up more than 1,000 apartments, San Mateo, California-based Essex Property Trust gained more than 300 units and Houston-based Camden Property Trust added around 1,500 apartments.
"When I look at the REITs," said Caitlin Sugrue Walter, Ph.D., vice president of research for the NMHC, "I still see them as very active in the market."
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