Freddie Mac Maintains Positive Outlook for Multifamily Market

Even as the single-family housing market recovers, apartment properties should still be a solid investment in most markets going forward, according to ""Freddie Mac's"":http://www.freddiemac.com/ analysts.

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In its mid-year multifamily outlook for 2013, the mortgage giant notes that multifamily market fundamentals such as rents and vacancies continue to improve, with New York, San Francisco, Denver, Seattle, and Los Angeles all seeing marked growth.

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According to Freddie Mac's new Multifamily Investment Index--a measure of investment attractiveness in apartment properties--the environment has turned down somewhat since peaking in the third quarter of 2012. However, it still sits above the average index value.

""As markets move it is important to have an objective measure of current conditions,"" said Victor Pa, VP of multifamily investments and advisory for Freddie Mac. ""Although the multifamily market has slowed, it remains an attractive investment across the majority of the metro areas for equity and debt investors.""

At the same time, supply presents a problem, the analysts said. While starts have seen growth over the last several years, completions are still lagging, and the gap between the two measures continues to grow wider. Meanwhile, permits have slowed down in the last several months, indicating that ""investors' appetite for multifamily properties might be cooling and that future construction levels may remain at or below pre-recession levels.""