Multifamily

For years, Richmond occupied an interesting position in the Mid-Atlantic multifamily landscape: large enough to attract institutional capital, but often overshadowed by bigger markets such as Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia. That is changing. Richmond has moved considerably higher on investors’ target lists over the past several years, initially propelled by the migration patterns that emerged during the pandemic. People flocked to Richmond for its relatively affordable housing and quality of life.  While that migration isn’t occurring at COVID-era levels today, those fundamentals remain. Increasingly, investors are recognizing that Richmond offers something particularly valuable in the current environment: attractive yield in a market where pricing has not necessarily caught up with the underlying fundamentals. Fundamentals hold up Richmond’s multifamily market is absorbing a meaningful amount of new supply while continuing to generate rent growth. Effective rents reached $1,658 at midyear, representing 4.1 percent growth, while occupancy stood at approximately 94 percent, according to Pyxis. The market absorbed 2,733 units over the previous 12 months, according to research from CoStar Group. Those numbers are particularly noteworthy given the recent construction cycle. Nearly 7,000 units were completed during the past 12 months. Another 5,736 are expected during the coming year, according to …