Access to capital and financing constraints may be pushing multifamily investors toward older properties, marking a divergence from broader trends in commercial real estate, according to a new analysis by Altus Group.
The office sector offers a benchmark for typical deal activity. In most markets, office assets trading hands closely reflect the age of available inventory. The median office building in the U.S. was built in the 1980s, and the median traded office property this year matches that decade. Among the 50 largest metropolitan areas, traded office properties were newer than the stock median in 21 markets, older in 22 and the same age in seven.
But the multifamily sector is bucking that pattern. Deals are skewing even older—toward properties built in the 1960s or earlier—even in metros where the average multifamily inventory is newer.
According to Altus Group, only nine of the top 50 U.S. metros saw traded multifamily properties that were newer than the local median. Three markets matched the typical built year, while the remaining 38 saw most trades involving older buildings.
In markets like Richmond, Baltimore, San Francisco, San Antonio and New Orleans, the typical traded multifamily property in 2025 has been more than 30 years older than the local median. Buffalo, Cleveland, Oklahoma City, Houston and Atlanta also saw sizable gaps. Conversely, trades in Raleigh averaged 25 years newer than the stock median, while Las Vegas recorded deals with assets 13 years newer.
Altus theorizes that today’s high cost of capital is prompting investors to favor smaller, older multifamily buildings with lower equity requirements and access to agency financing.
“Agency financing serves as a consistent and competitively priced financing option, which is only available for residential properties,” the report noted.
“Since agency programs are predominantly focused on stabilized, existing properties, the result may be a tilt toward these older buildings.”
Historical development patterns have also shaped today’s market. In the 1960s, the U.S. delivered more than 76,000 multifamily properties that still exist—more than double the number delivered in the 2000s or 2010s. Those older assets average about 40,000 square feet, compared to nearly 100,000 square feet for post-2010 developments.
Altus Group’s analysis found that properties built in the 1960s or earlier dominate the multifamily market in the Northeast, Midwest and coastal legacy cities, including New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New Orleans. The Mountain West, Pacific Northwest and cities such as Kansas City, Oklahoma City, Memphis and Birmingham are dominated by 1970s-era properties. The Sunbelt—covering Phoenix, Las Vegas, San Antonio, Dallas, Atlanta and Jacksonville—is more closely associated with 1980s-built multifamily stock.
Nationally, 31 of the top 50 U.S. metros saw median traded multifamily properties from the 1960s or earlier. High-growth markets stood out as exceptions. In Riverside, Phoenix, Nashville, Charlotte and Tampa, deals were primarily for properties of the 1980s vintage. Orlando and Las Vegas trended toward 1990s buildings, while Austin and Raleigh saw most sales involving assets built in the 2000s or later.
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