Small cities are leading this trend due to a “residential recalibration” from urban areas to more suburban locales.
Apartment developers are building markedly bigger units as the multifamily building industry adapts to changing post-pandemic renter preferences.
After more than 10 years of shrinking footprints, 36% of new builds in 92 markets across the country are building bigger apartments than ever, according to a RentCafe analysis of Yardi Matrix data. Most of those are upsizing two-bedroom units, which are increasing by nearly 50 square feet on average. Three-bedroom apartments are increasing by an average of 105 square feet.
“The pandemic and work-from-home has made people more conscious of the space in which they live and work,” Doug Ressler, manager of business intelligence at Yardi Matrix, told RentCafe. “The pandemic has significantly accelerated issues on designers’ minds well before 2020. These issues involve the rise of the home as a workspace, and a deeper emphasis on health and well-being.”
The average increase across all unit sizes is 49 square feet—“just enough for a small home office,” according to RentCafe.
“This is a wind of change in apartment construction—especially in urban areas—and it’s setting the stage for new trends in living preferences following the pandemic,” RentCafe’s Florentina Serac writes in her analysis.
Everett, Wash.—home to planemaker Boeing—leads the trend, with under-construction apartments measuring an average of 1,195 square feet, the highest among the cities RentCafe analyzed.
Scottsdale, Ariz., is next, with average apartment space of 1,139 square feet, followed by Athens, Ga., which plans to deliver the third-largest apartments at 1,132 square feet.
The fact that small cities are leading this trend can be explained by a “residential recalibration” from urban areas to more suburban locales, according to Craig Jones, president of MBK Rental Living.
Orlando, Oklahoma City, and Charlotte are also on track to deliver bigger apartments, with average apartment sizes of 981 square feet, 977 square feet and 1,010 square feet, respectively. And Florida leads the way with larger apartment construction, with six cities represented on RentCafe’s top list. Of Florida cities, Sarasota is top at an average new build size of 1,007 square feet per unit, the sixth largest among all cities analyzed.
Construction in 2020 has struggled, as stay-at-homes orders imposed at the beginning of the year to help slow down the spread of COVID-19 have generated delays in construction starts and permitting. Additionally, this year California had to deal with the flight from more expensive metros of many big companies such as Oracle, Tesla, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Palantir.
Year-to-date as of April, the top 10 California markets added 10,380 units to rental stock. Extended construction timelines mean that this number is expected to significantly increase until the end of 2021, as all the markets on the list, except for Metro Los Angeles, anticipate delivering the bulk of new units in the second half of the year. Bellow we ranked the top 10 California markets with the highest number of units delivered year-to date, according to Yardi Matrix data.
Rank
Metro
Units Completed
Projects Completed
Percentage of Stock
1
Metro Los Angeles
3,287
13
1.7%
2
Bay Area – South Bay
2,052
6
1.6%
3
Bay Area – East Bay
1,524
8
1.1%
4
Orange County
1,103
5
0.5%
5
San Diego
740
2
0.4%
6
San Fernando Valley – Ventura County
452
3
0.3%
7
Eastern Los Angeles County
436
2
0.4%
8
Central Valley
333
2
0.3%
9
San Francisco – Peninsula
317
2
0.3%
10
Inland Empire
136
1
0.1%
Source: Yardi Matrix
10. INLAND EMPIRE
Levante
The first entry on the list is also the only one to complete a single community through April. Some 136 units, 0.1 percent of the total stock, came online in the Inland Empire. Almost all of the new residential construction in 2021 in the metro is scheduled to be completed in the second half of the year, with 2,227 units across 14 communities expected to come online. This is a decrease compared to 2020, when roughly 3,100 units were added to the stock.
The sole community to be completed is the 136-unit Levante in Fontana, Calif. The luxury property is less than 50 miles from downtown Los Angeles. According to Yardi Matrix data, SC Development received a $20.4 million construction loan from Farmers and Merchants Bank of Long Beach in 2019 for the development of the asset.
9. SAN FRANCISCO–PENINSULA
The market added two communities comprising 317 units in the first five months of the year, which represents 0.3 percent of total stock. The majority of new communities are expected to come online during the second half of the year, with almost 4,100 units in 27 communities scheduled for completions in San Francisco–Peninsula. This represents an increase from the previous year, when 3,274 units across 17 communities were delivered.
The largest project to be delivered is the 197-unit Sendero Townhomes in Santa Rosa, Calif. Situated at 1791 Sebastopol Road just off highway 12, the Gallaher Homes’ community features studio and three-bedroom apartments.
8. CENTRAL VALLEY
The Riviera. Image via Google Street View
The market saw the addition of 317 units in two communities. By the end of the year, the Central Valley is expected to deliver 1,207 units in 12 communities. This constitutes a slight increase from the previous year, when 1,215 units were completed in 8 communities.
The Riviera was the largest development to be completed year-to-date and is located at 2311 N. Hillman St in Tulare, Calif., just off Highway 99. Ginder Development received a $23.9 million construction financing from Tri Counties Bank for the development of the 168-unit community, according to Yardi Matrix data.
7. EASTERN LOS ANGELES COUNTY
Evolve South Bay. Image courtesy of Design-Art
Only two communities were completed year-to-date and added 436 units to the metro or 0.4 percent of the stock. The vast majority of new residential development this year in Eastern Los Angeles County is expected to be delivered in the second part of 2021, a total of 3,633 units across 23 communities. This marks an impressive increase for the metro from 2020, when just nine communities came online and grew the inventory with 1,339 units.
Evolve South Bay in Carson, Calif., is the largest project to be completed. MBK Rental Living broke ground on the 300-unit luxury community in July 2019. Located at 285 E. Del Amo Blvd. adjacent to Interstate 405, the community is less than 19 miles south of downtown Los Angeles.
6. SAN FERNANDO VALLEY-VENTURA COUNTY
Three communities totaling 452 units, or 0.3 percent of total stock, were completed through April. Eight more communities comprising a little over 1,500 units are expected to be delivered by the end of 2021. The previous year San Fernando Valley-Ventura County recorded almost double the numbers, with 3,683 units added to the stock across 19 communities.
Portside Ventura Harbor in Ventura, Calif., was the largest project to be completed. Sondermann Ring Partners landed a $71.8 million construction loan from PNC Bank for the development of the 300-unit coastal community. The five buildings comprise studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom options.
5. SAN DIEGO
The metro added 740 units in only 2 properties, which comprises 0.4 percent of total stock. Until the end of the year, 4,442 units across 20 projects are expected to be delivered. San Diego saw 3,529 units come online in 2020, in 19 properties.
The 434-unit Purl was the largest of the two projects to be completed this year. Sudberry Properties received a $110 million construction loan in 2017 from Pacific Western Bank to develop the luxury asset. Located at 7901 Civita Blvd. within the 230-acre Civita urban village, the property is adjacent to the future, 1.5-acre Creekside Park.
4. ORANGE COUNTY
Broadstone Archive
Orange County is the first entry on the list to break through the 1,000-unit mark, with 1,103 units delivered year-to-date in five communities. That accounts for 0.5 percent of total existing stock. By the end of 2021, the market is anticipated to add another 2,118 units across 12 properties. That’s significantly more than last year, when 1,900 units were delivered in 10 communities.
The 483-unit Broadstone Atlas in Santa Ana, Calif., was the largest project to be delivered. The property is part of Park & Paseo, an 18-acre mixed-use development which will include 1,221 multifamily units and 74,000 square feet of retail space roughly 1 mile from the Irvine Business Complex.
3. BAY AREA-EAST BAY
Channel House. Image via Google Street View
Eight projects were completed in the first five months of the year in Bay Area-East Bay. The communities added 1,524 units to the market, 1.1 percent of existing stock. The metro is expected to deliver most of its new communities this year in the second half of 2021, meaning 48 properties, totaling a little over 8,100 units. In 2020, some 4,900 units were added to the East Bay’s rental stock.
Located at Jack London Square in Oakland, Calif., the 333-unit Channel House is the largest project to be delivered through April. CIM Group topped out the waterfront development back in 2019 but only completed the property in March this year.
2. BAY AREA-SOUTH BAY
Lynhaven. Image via Google Street View
Bay Area-South Bay had a good start to the year with a little over 2,000 units to come online in only six projects, which represents 1.6 percent of the market’s inventory. Some 4,900 units are scheduled to be completed by year-end. This would add 19 new communities to the stock. This represents almost double the number the metro delivered the previous year, when only 3,149 units were added.
Greystar’s Lynhaven in San Jose was the biggest community to come online through April. The 636-unit Silicon Valley community is within walking distance of public transit and less than a mile from Interstate 280. According to Yardi Matrix data, the owner received $201 million in construction financing from Otera Capital to develop the community.
1. METRO LOS ANGELES
AVA Hollywood at La Pietra Place. Image via Google Street View
The top spot, with a sizable lead, was Metro Los Angeles with 3,287 units added to the stock across 13 projects. This represents 1.7 percent of the metro’s total inventory, the highest percentage on the list. Metro Los Angeles is expected to deliver another almost 10,500 units in 67 properties by year-end. This marks a significant growth from last year, when almost 6,000 units in 27 communities came online.
The biggest project to come online, both in the metro and on the list, was the 695-unit AVA Hollywood at La Pietra Place in East Hollywood. AvalonBay Communities’ mixed-use project also includes 25,000 square feet of retail space and 30 units are designated for affordable housing. Located at 6677 Santa Monica Blvd., the community is less than 7 miles from downtown Los Angeles.
Yardi Matrix covers all multifamily properties of 50-plus units across 133 markets in the United States. This ranking reflects transactions for properties within that sample group.
Multifamily developer MBK Rental Living has started leasing of its debut apartment community in the Sacramento, California, metro. The Strand, a three-story garden-style project in West Sacramento, features 408 luxury units with extensive indoor and outdoor amenities.
Courtesy MBK Rental LivingThe Strand in West Sacramento, California, features a wealth of outdoor and indoor amenities for residents, including two resort-style pools with cabanas.
Virtual leasing as well as virtual and hard-hat tours are available for prospective renters. The first move-ins are expected by the end of this month, along with the grand opening of the amenities, which will be available by reservation.
“With Sacramento apartment vacancies reaching all-time lows, the opening of The Strand could not come at a better time,” said MBK Rental Living president Craig Jones. “This well-located infill project is delivering much-needed quality housing with finishes and luxury amenities that help create a lifestyle unique to the West Sacramento community.”
The development is located on more than 20 acres within the Rivers master-planned community and provides studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom units with open-concept living areas. Six floor options range from 562 to 1,187 square feet and a choice between two designer color schemes. Units also feature custom-wood cabinetry, quartz countertops, stainless steel GE appliances, including washers and dryers, distinctive wood-style flooring, kitchen pantries, and covered private patios. Rents range from $1,770 to $2,675 per month.
Amenities include Wi-Fi in common areas; a resident clubhouse with an entertainer’s kitchen;` two resort-style pools with cabanas; a California room with a double-sided fireplace, outdoor fire pits, and gas grills; a spa and fitness center; an outdoor adult fitness center; and a 4,000-square-foot dog park with seating areas. Residents also will have access to electric-vehicle charging stations, parcel lockers and a mail room, bike racks, and a dog wash.
The Strand provides easy access to transportation corridors, West Sacramento’s 11 miles of river frontage and a 60-mile bike network, as well as dining, entertainment, and cultural destinations.
“Serving area growth with both high-end style and substance, The Strand will cater to a range of residents including young professionals, growing families, and nature enthusiasts,” Jones said. “Our community offers what renters in West Sac and the greater metro area have been waiting for—a vibrant community living experience that is very close to downtown yet tucked away into nature.”
DesCor Builders constructed the community, and Greystar is the property manager.
As the pandemic crippled many parts of the economy, apartments, for the most part, continued to do well over the last year, even as single-family housing rocketed to levels not seen in more than decade.
But for multifamily, the good times weren’t universal. The city core in Sacramento saw rents actually dip slightly, possibly as a result of several large properties coming online at once. And in Davis, remote learning for University of California Davis students translated into a vacancy rate that jumped to 12%.In the next few months, new properties in each of those markets will test whether those factors were blips, or something more substantial. Truckee-based HighBridge Properties will open Ryder on Olive, a 706-bed, 130-unit student housing project to Davis. And leasing has begun for The Strand, a 408-unit apartment project in West Sacramento not far from Downtown Sacramento.
Ken McCarren, vice president of asset management with Irvine-based MBK Rental Living, said The Strand has a more spacious, suburban-style layout and doesn’t feel like an urban project.
“We’re very different from the downtown market,” he said. “You can bike to downtown, but the feel is very suburban.”
HighBridge Managing Director Paul Gradeff said Ryder on Olive is being marketed in a way that recognizes the pandemic. Common area designs were changed to have more space, to allow social distancing, for example.
Of Ryder on Olive’s 706 beds, 71 will be rented at lower rates – call it affordable student housing — in perpetuity. That was part of an agreement HighBridge made with the city during entitlement review. But Gradeff said that also recognizes student housing in Davis is often in short supply, making rents higher. For at least a few students, lower rents will be an incentive to stick around if in-person learning went remote again.
“In terms of what we’re offering, it’s 20,000 square feet of common space. It’s a community within a community,” he said. In the long run, Davis still needs more student housing, he added.
McCarren with MBK said his firm is also thinking about adding more supply, including locally. Even so, he said, he’d acknowledge the current challenges.
“To come in with 408 units in a market takes a little bit of faith,” he said. www.livestrand.com
The Strand, a three-story garden-style apartment community located in West Sacramento, is nearing completion. The 408-unit project is a development of MBK Rental Living. Offering upscale living with easy access to the capital city, units at The Strand will offer bright, open living spaces and luxurious interior finishes as well as extensive indoor and outdoor amenities. First move-ins are anticipated at the end of May along with the grand opening of the community amenities.
“With Sacramento apartment vacancies reaching all-time lows, the opening of The Strand could not come at a better time,” said MBK Rental Living President Craig Jones. “This well-located infill project is delivering much-needed quality housing with finishes and luxury amenities that help create a lifestyle unique to the West Sacramento community.”
Located on more than 20 acres at Lighthouse Dr and Douglas St within the Rivers master-planned community, The Strand elevates rental housing in the capital city by offering studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom residences with bright and spacious open-concept living areas. There are six floor plan options ranging from 562 sf to 1.2k sf and a choice between two designer color schemes. Each residence features modern custom-wood cabinetry, quartz countertops, stainless steel G.E. appliances including a washer and dryer, distinctive wood-style flooring, kitchen pantries, and covered private patios.
The lushly landscaped community boasts remarkable amenities including Wi-Fi in common areas; the Resident Clubhouse with entertainer’s kitchen; two resort-style pools with cabanas; a California room with double-sided fireplace, outdoor firepits and gas grills; a spa and fully equipped fitness center; outdoor adult fitness course; and a 4k sf dog park with seating areas. Residents will also have access to EV charging stations, parcel lockers and mail room, bike racks and a dog wash.
The brand new apartment community offers easy access to West Sacramento’s 11 miles of river frontage and 60-mile bike network as well as many dining, entertainment and cultural destinations including Sutter Health Park. The Strand residents will be able to conveniently connect to transportation corridors like the I Street Bridge and employment centers such as the California State Teachers’ Retirement System West Sacramento campus, which recently opened a new 10-story, 250k sf tower.
Rental prices at The Strand, which is constructed by DesCor Builders and managed by Greystar, range from $1,770 to $2,675 per month. www.livestrand.com
For those Patch readers looking for a new apartment in the West Sacramento area, here is a tip. MBK Rental Living is leasing at The Strand, a three-story garden-style apartment with easy access to the capital city, upon completion the community will consist of 408 apartment units with bright, open living spaces and luxurious interior finishes as well as extensive indoor and outdoor amenities. Virtual leasing as well as virtual and hard hat tours are currently underway. We took a tour and really enjoyed it.
Located on more than 20 acres at Lighthouse Drive and Douglas Street within the Rivers master-planned community, The Strand elevates rental housing in the capital city by offering studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom residences with bright and spacious open-concept living areas. There are six floor plan options ranging from 562 to 1,187 square feet and a choice between two designer color schemes. Each residence features modern custom-wood cabinetry, quartz countertops, stainless steel G.E. appliances including a washer and dryer, distinctive wood-style flooring, kitchen pantries, and covered private patios.
The landscaped community boasts remarkable amenities including Wi-Fi in common areas; the Resident Clubhouse with entertainer’s kitchen; two resort-style pools with cabanas; a California room with double-sided fireplace, outdoor firepits and gas grills; a spa and fully equipped fitness center; outdoor adult fitness course; and a 4,000-square-foot dog park with seating areas. Residents will also have access to EV charging stations, parcel lockers and mail room, bike racks and a dog wash.
The brand new apartment community offers easy access to West Sacramento’s 11 miles of river frontage and 60-mile bike network as well as many dining, entertainment and cultural destinations including Sutter Health Park. The Strand residents will be able to conveniently connect to transportation corridors like the I Street Bridge and employment centers such as the California State Teachers’ Retirement System West Sacramento campus, which recently opened a new 10-story, 250,000-square-foot+ tower.
Prices for this community range from $1,770 to $2,675 per month. Patch readers can visit www.livestrand.com for more details.
