Small apartment buildings comprise the largest share of workforce housing demand within the top 20 metros, while single-family rentals dominate the next 30.

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Source: arbor.com/blog/small-apartment-workforce-rental-top-metros
Small balance multifamily loans are typically between $1 million and $5 million. Chandan
Economics defines small-cap properties as 5 to 19 units, mid-cap properties as 20 to 50
units, and large-cap properties as larger than 50 units. Both small-cap and mid-cap
properties can fall into the small balance spectrum.
All data is sourced from the American Community Survey (ACS), unless otherwise stated.
ACS statistics are sample-based estimates of the compositional profile of the total
population in the given year of data collection, and include a margin of error.
Shift in Asset Class Distribution of Workforce Households by
Metro Market Segments: 2014-16
Asset Shift of Total Workforce Demand within Metros
• The share of workforce demand in small apartment buildings saw an increase of 52
basis points (bps) in the largest 5 metros, while declining in the middle-tier cities.
• Large apartment assets also increased their share of the overall demand by 23 bps in
the Top 5 grouping, while increasing by 166 bps in the Next 15.
• Single-family rentals show declining shares across the board, with the largest drop in
the middle-tier metros of nearly 70 bps.
Change in Basis Points; Asset Type Distribution in 2016 Compared Against 2014
Source: Chandan Economics, American Community Survey, 2016
Workforce households, assumed to rent at prevailing market rates, are typically defined as those falling
within a range of 60% to 120% of area median income (AMI), and this is specific to metropolitan and
micropolitan areas due to wage differences across the U.S.
Top 5 Metros
200
100
0
-100
Next 15 Metros Next 30 Metros
Single-Family Rentals
Duplex-Quadruplex
Small Asset Multifamily
Large Asset Multifamily
Asset Type Distribution of Metro-Level Workforce Housing
• The share of small asset apartment properties in the overall workforce demand
peaked at 40% in the Top 5 metros, decreasing steadily down the metro tiers to
36% in the Next 15 and over 31% in the Next 30 metros.
• The share trend for single-family rentals is the mirror opposite, with shares increasing
dramatically from 22% in the Top 5 metros to 35% in the Next 15 and 40% in the
Next 30.
• Large apartment assets play a smaller overall role, with a 17% share in the Top 5
metros, 15% in the Next 15 and 8% in the Next 30 metros.
Distribution of Metro Workforce Households across Asset Classes: 2016
Percent Distribution within Metro Market Segments
Single-Family Rentals
Duplex-Quadruplex
Small Asset Multifamily
Large Asset Multifamily
Top 5 Metros
Source: Chandan Economics, American Community Survey, 2016
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Next 15 Metros Next 30 Metros
Small Apartment
Properties Form
Core of Workforce
Rental Demand in
the Top Metros
Arbor Realty Trust
Small apartment buildings comprise the largest share of workforce housing demand
within the top 20 metros, while single-family rentals dominate the next 30.