Approximately 20% of U.S. households live in multifamily rental buildings, according to the 2012 Rental Housing Finance Survey released by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Census Bureau.
‘Given that one-in-five families rent apartments in these multifamily properties, it's critically important we broaden our understanding of how these developments are bought and paid for,’ says Erika Poethig, HUD's deputy assistant secretary for policy development. ‘The Rental Housing Finance Survey fills an important gap in our understanding of who owns multifamily rental housing – mostly individuals, not large companies – and how multifamily rental housing is financed, especially as the structure of finance is changing.’
Among the major findings from the survey on multifamily rental properties are the following:
- There are 2.3 million multifamily properties in the U.S.;
- 73% of these properties consist of a single building, while 4% have 20 or more buildings on the property;
- 77% of these properties provide parking;
- 19% contain buildings built prior to 1920;
- 67% are owned by households or individuals;
- 70% are managed day-to-day by the owner or an unpaid agent such as a family member;
- 54% of two- to four-unit multifamily rental properties have a mortgage, compared to 85% of properties with over 50 units; and
- 73% were acquired by their owners prior to 2005..
