ATLANTA—Investment in US multifamily reached $127 billion for the year ending at the second quarter of 2015. That's the highest four-quarter total in history and growth of 36% over the 12-month period, according to the latest research from CBRE. In fact, the total surpasses the mid-2000s peak of $100 billion achieved in the year ending Q2 2006.

Multifamily investment has been robust for several years and this trend continued during the second quarter of 2015, with $30 billion flowing into the sector. That's a 35% year-over-year gain, but a 3% decline over the first quarter of 2015. Multifamily acquisitions represented 27% of the total $110 billion invested in US commercial real estate in in the second quarter of 2015.

“Investment in US multifamily product continues its extraordinary run, reflecting solid confidence in future market and asset performance. Drawn in by solid fundamentals, investor interest in the sector remains high, per sales activity and underwriting trends,” says Brian McAuliffe, executive managing director of Institutional Properties at CBRE Capital Markets. “Equity and debt investment volumes continued to rise, along with transaction sales prices. Cap rate declines have been minimal, which signal total projected investor returns are close to bottom.”

The Los Angeles/Southern California area attracted the most multifamily investment with $5.3 billion. That's ahead of Dallas/Ft. Worth and Washington, DC at at $3 billion, Atlanta at $2.8 billion, and Houston at $2.5 billion. However, Atlanta presents the nation's highest investment return at 20.46%, ahead of the national average of 11.60%.

"Atlanta's apartment investment for 2015 is running at an annualized pace of $4.6 billion through August, just shy of 2014's pace when $4.9 billion of transactions were completed," Paul Berry, executive vice president of Institutional Properties, Multifamily at CBRE, tells GlobeSt.com. "The environment is ideal for both buyers and sellers."

Rent growth was widespread in the second quarter of 2015, with 30 of the 62 markets tracked by CBRE posting year-over-year rent increases of 5% or more. The apartment vacancy rate across these markets was 4.3% in the second quarter 2015—down 30 bps from a year earlier and down 300 bps from the first quarter of 2009 recessionary peak of 7.3%. Vacancy is expected to continue to decline through the end of third quarter of 2015. Atlanta is performing strong on the national front.

"Fundamentals are surging across the metro," Berry says. "With over 80,000 jobs created in the past year, rents have risen 7.5% from the second quarter of 2014 to the second quarter of 2015 and marketwide occupancy has now reached 95%. The good news should continue with effective rents projected to grow another 19% through 2020. With cap rates flat and expected to remain so, current and projected rent growth translates to similar NOI growth and property appreciation."