MIAMI-While some investors are pulling out of big deals in the wake of Wall Street woes, certain sectors are still seeing growth in South Florida and across the Southeast. Multifamily is one of them.

Declining homeownership rates, limited access to credit for potential homebuyers and a lack of confidence in both the economy and the housing market has led to unprecedented levels of households opting to rent versus own their home. So says Cushman & Wakefield’s midyear US Multifamily MarketBeat Report.

“There’s no question that South Florida is on most investors’ preferred market list,” Brad Capas, senior director of Apartment Brokerage Services at Cushman & Wakefield, tells GlobeSt.com. “The market is performing very well from an occupancy standpoint. We are starting to see a little bit of rent growth, and significant rent growth is expected going forward.”

Miami-Dade’s small class A segment and large class B and C sectors have vacancy rates in the low 5% range, according to Cushman & Wakefield. Top-quality properties in the market can trade at cap rates of 6% or less. Most class B properties, though, generally change hands in the 7% to 8% range, providing investors with sizable spreads over financing rates.

Other markets in the Southeast—including Charleston, SC; Greensboro, NC; Charlotte, NC; Jacksonville, FL and Orlando—have seen the strongest year-over-year increases in occupancy, with vacancy rates declining three to four percentage points over the past 12 months. Atlanta ranked fifth for year-to-date investment volume. But Capas points to plenty of new multifamily development planned for South Florida.

“Throughout the tri-country area there may be three dozen properties that are legitimately going to start construction in the next 24 months,” Capas says. “Are we immune from some of the stuff that’s going on in Wall Street? Probably not. But I have not heard of any pending deals that have come apart or been put on hold as a result of the downgrade of US debt or any of the recent issues on Wall Street.”