Freddie Mac Apartment Investment Market Index Posts Slight YoY Increase

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Freddie Mac Multifamily reported its Apartment Investment Market Index ticked downward in the third quarter but is up 0.3% over the past 12 months.

The index fell 2.1% to 107.1 following two straight quarters of increases.

“After last quarter’s rebound, the third quarter decline in AIMI is primarily attributable to the significant increase in interest rates,” said Sara Hoffmann, director of Multifamily Research at Freddie Mac. “The slight annual increase is notable, and largely the result of a substantial contraction in property prices, which offset the effect of markedly higher mortgage rates.”

Key components of AIMI include net operating income, property prices and mortgage rates. In the third quarter, NOI increased in the nation and in 16 markets, but six of those markets experienced small gains of 0.5% or less. Multifamily property prices dropped in the nation and all but two markets–Charlotte and San Diego–while mortgage rates rose by 41 basis points, the first gain since fourth-quarter 2022.

Over the past year, NOI grew in the nation and in 10 markets, with Boston posting the fastest growth at 3.9%, while Las Vegas and Phoenix posted the largest declines at -5.5%. Property prices declined in the nation and in all markets, with 11 markets and the nation contracting by more than -10%. Meanwhile, mortgage rates increased by 114 basis points–still high by historical standards, but lower than last quarter’s 131 basis point annual increase.

At the national level, over the past year, mortgage rates rose 114 basis points while property prices decreased by -11.9% and NOI grew by 0.3%. “Based on these changes, the index suggests that investors are paying slightly less per dollar of property income compared with one year ago,” the report said.