Smaller multifamily REITs are beginning to show signs of the strain settling in for the asset class as rent growth dipped into negative territory for the year.
Aimco and Elme are liquidating, selling the portfolios to return capital to shareholders rather than continue on, while Centerspace is evaluating its options in one of the most challenging operating environments for apartments in years.
“Because jobs are really tepid, you’re not really getting a lot of new rents,” Piper Sandler Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst Alexander Goldfarb said. “Renewals are pretty good, but new rents are not. You layer that in with the inability to buy…