1. In 4Q23, 87% of respondents shared it was harder to find development debt financing than six months ago. In 3Q24, only 30% said financing is harder to come by, and nearly a quarter of respondents reported it’s becoming easier to secure a development loan.  
2. The impact of construction delays improved slightly quarter over quarter. Developers said 62% of their under-construction pipeline is on schedule (slated to deliver within two months of originally scheduled completion).    
3. Roughly 70% of operators believe that renters’ demand will remain steady over the next six months, and 17% said demand still has room to intensify.   
4. Developers showed some optimism in Q1 and Q2 that starts had bottomed out, but now more than two-thirds of respondents tell us they expect further slowing into next year.  
5. Many Sun Belt markets will continue to see heavy deliveries into 2025. The supply pressure from this wave of development is causing rent losses and soft occupancies in some areas. 
6. As has been the case since 4Q23, at least half of investors think stabilized apartment values are too high. Concurrently, a sizeable majority think values are too low.  
7. Despite a lack of consensus on values, surveyed investors broadly agree that high-quality assets are trading at low 5% cap rates.   
8. The percentage of operators identifying home purchases as a primary reason for resident non-renewal rose YOY from 5% to 18%. Due to high mortgage rates and limited resale inventory, many high-income households chose to rent during the past two years. As mortgage rates decrease and rental listings rise, these renters may decide to transition into homeownership.   
9. Roughly half of respondents are seeing rent growth on new leases, with 33% reporting growth in excess of +3%. Nationally, average new lease rents rose by +0.2% YOY.    
10. 64% of survey participants do not plan to refinance their apartment assets in the next six months, and over half have no plans to refinance. 23% of respondents indicate they would consider refinancing if rates fell to 4%–5%.   

NAA is pleased to partner with John Burns Research and Consulting on this insightful sentiment survey. To participate in the Q4 2024 survey, reach out to Paula Munger, NAA’s VP of Research, at [email protected].