Acquiring accurate multifamily market data from reliable sources is a critical function for many property management duties, from pricing and operations to budgeting and beyond. But you can’t source data from just anywhere. Many websites and tools claim to offer accurate multifamily housing data, but it’s difficult to determine their validity.
So, we’ve created this guide to highlight seven trusted multifamily market sources to better inform your property management decisions. We’ll also show how using accurate multifamily data enhances your management strategy, eliminating guesswork.
7 Best Multifamily Data Providers
Accurate multifamily market data is critical for making confident and smart decisions when managing a property or portfolio. Use the platforms and tools we’ve outlined below to inform strategy decisions, improve workflows, and stay competitive within your market.
1. ApartmentIQ
Offering real-time market data down to the unit level, ApartmentIQ is a leading multifamily market data solution with more than four years of public data. ApartmentIQ centralizes public data across 35M+ units.
Instead of manually searching for data insights, ApartmentIQ centralizes public performance data into a single platform, making it easier to validate decisions regarding pricing, budgeting, operations, and marketing.
Use ApartmentIQ to access:
- Custom Market Surveys: Create custom market surveys that allow you to track 20 performance metrics, fees, and amenities, revealing insights you can instantly share with your team.
- Historical Data: Access data as far back as 2020 to identify trends and seasonality at the market, floor plan, and unit levels.
- Floor Plans & Unit Reporting: Analyze data by floor plan or unit to identify trends, set pricing, and see the impact they have on a property’s performance.
- Custom Reporting: Export custom reports to Excel or PDF to share with team members, or schedule reports to be sent to ownership at a specific time.
- Market & Submarket Data: Access multifamily data at the market and submarket levels, including demographics, performance, and supply in seconds.
2. National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC)
The National Multifamily Housing Council is a leading source for national benchmarks, research reports, and trend data in the multifamily industry. As a nonprofit organization, NMHC provides you with timely insights into numerous aspects of the multifamily market.
For example, NMHC publishes an annual renters’ preferences survey, which you can use to justify upgrades by showing what features renters value most in your market. This type of insight is especially useful when you’re preparing your budget for next year. Data from NMHC and other sources enables you to build a narrative that supports your budget.
You may also use NMHC to:
- Understand market sentiment through quarterly updates that reflect the perspectives of owners, developers, and managers.
- Support amenity upgrades with national renter preference surveys.
- Strengthen your budget’s narrative with economic and multifamily housing data.
- Use detailed salary surveys to inform staffing budgets across roles and regions.
3. Property Websites
You can manually review property websites for information on unit pricing, availability, amenities, and concessions. This information is often marketed to potential residents on the website, so taking a browse yourself is a good way of understanding what competitors are offering.
So, if you’re wondering how to find comps in multifamily, gathering information from competing property websites is a traditional method. However, visiting individual websites to gather this data is time-consuming. Visiting multiple websites to collect the information you’re looking for could take hours, and even then, it could be false or outdated by the time you’re done.
For that reason, you should consider ApartmentIQ to simplify the process. ApartmentIQ collects public data across portfolios and markets, allowing you to view it in one place without spending hours collecting it yourself. By centralizing this information in one place, you can more effectively review your competition and guide your strategy accordingly.
4. Marcus & Millichap
Marcus & Millichap is a commercial real estate brokerage firm known for its investment expertise and market research. The firm’s multifamily-focused reporting combines proprietary transaction data with national and local market trends, offering timely insights analyzed by industry experts.
One of their most notable resources, the Institutional Multifamily Market Intelligence report, provides current data on rent growth, lease renewals, and vacancy rates. This data helps you identify which markets are gaining momentum and provides useful context around shifts in supply and demand.
Additionally, use Marcus and Millichap for the following:
- Gauge investor sentiment by monitoring cap rates and market forecasts.
- Track local performance across more than 50 major metros against national trends.
- Monitor the construction pipeline to determine how it may affect future supply.
- Directly access multifamily specialists to assist your specific investment goals.
5. Cushman & Wakefield
Cushman & Wakefield is a global commercial real estate firm with extensive experience in the multifamily industry. The firm’s flagship U.S. Multifamily MarketBeat report is published quarterly and covers more than 90 metropolitan areas. The report provides updates on market indicators, including net absorption, occupancy shifts, and construction pipeline activity.
The firm also publishes insights drawn from its own asset management portfolio, giving a glimpse at leasing and retention trends. As a result of these reports, you can market your portfolio more effectively and identify when and where to invest.
Use Cushman & Wakefield as an accurate source when it comes to:
- Access national and metro-level data on rent growth, occupancy rates, and supply and demand.
- Monitor quarterly absorption trends and vacancy rates to inform investment decisions.
- Review new development activity and construction forecasts to plan for competition.
- Utilize proprietary management insights for a more detailed view of retention and leasing velocity.
6. U.S. Census Bureau
The U.S. Census Bureau provides detailed, publicly available data on population trends, household composition, housing units, income levels, and other demographic information. With this information, you can better anticipate future demand in your area and develop a more effective long-term plan.
Use the U.S. Census Bureau to assist with the following:
- Utilize affordability metrics to inform pricing strategies and capital investments across properties.
- Track changes in population to determine which markets are growing and shrinking, and anticipate demand accordingly.
- Review migration trends that may affect leading and development opportunities.
- Learn about household composition to determine what amenities best fit your marketing strategy.
Pro tip: Consider using the Public Use Database (PUDB), a resource from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Although you may not use the PUDB for daily multifamily operations, it serves as a valuable resource for long-term strategic planning or simple education on housing affordability trends.
7. Industry Surveys and Reports
Industry surveys and research publications offer valuable insights into the multifamily market’s current experiences, encompassing everything from renter expectations to technology investments.
The Multifamily Tech Adoption Report from Multifamily Insiders, for example, helps you determine where your current tech investments stand compared to the rest of the industry. Similarly, the NMHC Multifamily Industry Compensation Survey reveals multifamily data on salaries across roles and regions. This way, you can address staffing requests across your portfolio that align with industry standards.
These types of reports offer third-party validation for internal strategy decisions. And while these two reports are standouts, there are many other reputable publications to keep you informed and competitive as the market evolves.
Accurate Multifamily Property Data Means A Smarter Strategy
Access to accurate and up-to-date multifamily market data gives you a competitive edge, enabling you to make informed decisions for your property’s long-term strategy.
ApartmentIQ simplifies the process by delivering real-time, unit-level market data from 100% publicly available sources. We centralize this data in one place, allowing you and your team to make informed, strategic decisions regarding budgeting, pricing, marketing, and operations.
Request a free demo and discover how accurate data leads to a smarter, healthier strategy.