Multifamily Investors Still Plan Portfolio Growth

GlobeSt.com reports that multifamily investors are balancing weak current performance against plans for future growth. Berkadia’s 2026 Mid-Year Multifamily Pulse Survey drew responses from more than 100 industry participants. Most were principals and directors at private investment companies. More than half said the first half missed expectations. Even so, most respondents still plan to expand their portfolios.

Sentiment Remains Defensive

Fifty-two percent said first-half performance was worse than expected. Another 43% said results were roughly in line. Only 5% reported better performance. Volatility also weighed on second-half sentiment. Sixty-one percent said it made their outlook somewhat or decidedly negative. Another 26% said their outlook was unchanged. The survey shows a market still struggling to translate investor interest into comfortable near-term expectations.

Multifamily Investment Plans Stay Intact

Eighty-two percent of respondents still plan portfolio growth. That includes 70% targeting moderate expansion and 12% planning aggressive growth. Fourteen percent expect to maintain current holdings. Only 4% plan to reduce portfolios or exit. The biggest challenge is finding acquisitions that work. Interest rates, access to capital and oversupply in some markets also rank high.

Deal Execution Gets Harder

Thirty-two percent said only selected deals are closing while many transactions stall. Another 22% described execution as noticeably more complex. Twenty-one percent said deals are somewhat harder but still getting done. Fifty-five percent have placed planned sales on hold because of volatility. Only 6% were very confident a listed property would trade. Forty-one percent were somewhat confident, and 37% were not very confident. Multifamily investment remains selective even among buyers with expansion plans.

Underwriting Stays Conservative

Nearly half of respondents assume exit cap rates will be 25 to 50 basis points above going-in rates. Rent growth expectations are also restrained. Seventy-three percent expect no more than 2.5% growth over the next 18 months. Within that group, 39% expect between zero and 1%. In heavily supplied markets, 63% prefer concessions to cutting base asking rents.

Regional Preferences Shift

Respondents ranked the Midwest as the most attractive region for second-half investment. The Southeast came next, followed by the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. Berkadia cited RealPage data that broadly support that ranking. Midwest effective rents rose 4.6% year over year through the first quarter. The Northeast gained 3.2%. The broader South declined 0.1%.

Why It Matters

The survey captures a split between current frustration and longer-term conviction. Investors remain cautious on pricing, rent growth and exit assumptions. Yet most still want to add assets. That combination suggests buyers may stay active when deal economics work, even if transaction volumes remain uneven in the short term.

What’s Next

Only 15% expect the multifamily investment climate to improve during the second half of 2026. The outlook changes sharply for 2027. Sixty percent expect improvement in the first half. That share rises to 79% for the second half. Those expectations help explain why investors are preserving expansion plans despite difficult deal conditions today.