Apartment Projects Stall, Pushing Timelines Out 500 Days

Apartment developers are having a hard time getting their high-rises to rise.

It is taking an average of 500 days for new projects to break ground after they are approved, a 45% jump from 2019, the Wall Street Journal reported based on Yardi Matrix data. 

The usual suspects, high interest rates and a strict lending environment, are the primary drivers, and many developers are deciding to stall projects until profit margins improve. 

Regional banks are tightening their lending on commercial real estate as their residential portfolios aren't offering favorable returns. Projects look less profitable, as property values dropped up to 30% from a 2022 April high.

Stagnant rent growth doesn't benefit developers' financing efforts either. Rents fell 0.8% year-over-year and have been negative since last year, according to Apartment List. 

An apartment surplus in some markets is contributing to rents decreasing, making investors wary of adding more buildings to their portfolios.

Construction spending is at a high. $890B was put into residential builds in April, according to Census data, far above the $865B spent by the end of last year. 

But overall, April wasn't the greatest month for multifamily.

The asset class led the national distress rate, which overall hit a new high of 8.35%. Multifamily's rate jumped from 3.7% in March to 7.2%.

More than $1.6B worth of multifamily CMBS loans went to special servicing in April, Trepp found. Looking ahead, $150B worth of loans are set to mature by the end of 2025, and $525B worth on 58,000 properties are due within five years.

With the struggle to secure financing, the picture could get worse for distress rates as the year goes on.