Missing middle multifamily starts backslide amid zoning headwinds
Why this matters
Multifamily has been the most actively underwritten sector through the rate cycle, with cap rate compression resuming in Sun Belt and gateway markets as 2024-2025 deliveries roll off and refinance demand on 2021-vintage bridge loans clears. Transaction velocity is up modestly, concentrated in stabilized Class A and grocery-adjacent garden assets. Allocators continue to favor residential for its income durability and its insulation from secular demand questions that still hang over commercial sectors.
Editorial analysis · Real Estate Trail Editorial
On the RET wire
- Disclosed multifamily deal value tracked in August 2026: $11.7B across 136 reported transactions. All Multifamily coverage →
Computed from Real Estate Trail’s own tracked coverage
NAHB: 2- to 4-unit starts drop 24% year over year as zoning curbs ‘light-touch’ density
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