Intelligent Investment

2022 Global Multifamily Investor Intentions Survey

June 22, 2022 2 Minute Read

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Key Findings

CBRE's 2022 Global Multifamily Investor Intentions Survey reveals strong investor sentiment despite concerns about inflation, interest rates and the COVID pandemic.

The survey was conducted several weeks before Russia's war with Ukraine began and before many central banks started raising interest rates to tame high inflation.

Although markets have changed considerably over the past few months, the sentiment herein provides a meaningful baseline perspective.

Sector Preference:

Multifamily residential remained the second most preferred commercial type for investment in 2022, behind industrial & logistics.
23% of survey respondents said multifamily was their primary sector target this year, down from 26% in 2021.
This change was largely due to an increase in demand for industrial & logistics assets.

Multifamily Sector Alternatives:

Student living overtook seniors housing as the most preferred multifamily alternative by survey respondents.
Affordable housing saw the biggest gain globally for targeted investment into alternative residential assets.

Location Preferences:

Global gateway markets were most preferred by EMEA and Asia-Pacific respondents. Tokyo topped the list for APAC, while Berlin overtook London in EMEA.
Sun Belt markets again dominated investor preference in the Americas, largely due to their strong fundamentals.
Boston was the only gateway market among the top-five most preferred markets in the Americas.

Pricing & Strategy:

Nearly half of multifamily survey respondents were willing to bid above asking price for assets in 2022.
Only 10% expected any pricing discounts, down from 23% in 2021.
44% expected to purchase more assets than last year, while only 10% expected to purchase less.
Global economic uncertainty, persistent inflation and rising interest rates have produced some headwinds, including increased borrowing costs and capital markets volatility. These conditions have negatively affected asset pricing.