Top Trends Across Cushman & Wakefield’s Multifamily Portfolio
June capped off the first half of the year with solid leasing momentum and steadily tightening portfolio-wide fundamentals.
Occupancy held near cycle‑highs, supported by sustained renter demand. Concessions continued to burn off, while delinquency and cost‑related move‑outs remained remarkably muted, underscoring the multifamily market’s resilience despite economic uncertainty.
The Cushman & Wakefield Asset Services team manages over 167,000 units nationwide, making our team one of the largest third-party management providers in the country. This scale generates a wealth of data and analytics, which we share regularly through articles like this and our multifamily newsletter, Multifamily Digest. Because this data is proprietary to our clients, we do not share aggregate levels for most metrics. However, broader trends offer valuable insights into market performance.
Leasing Remains the Key Theme Through the First Half of 2025
Unlike the slowdown from the first to the second quarter, our data showed a different trend. Applications per available unit accelerated into the second quarter, leading to steady growth in occupancy.
Managing Rent Rolls During Uncertainty
The Multifamily MarketBeat highlighted a second-quarter resurgence in deliveries, prompting owners to prioritize occupancy over price—cutting or maintaining rents to boost occupancy in anticipation of economic challenges and rising competition. However, only one of these two concerns materialized in the second quarter. Job growth remained strong, and while supply increased, it’s expected to decline significantly in the second half of the year and into 2026.
Most of our clients took a different approach. Occupancy improved, as shown in the chart below, though it leveled off slightly in June.
Concessions, on the other hand, have decreased significantly since the start of the year. As the market continues to recover, concessions are likely to keep declining, boosting NOI, particularly for newly delivered product, over the next 18 months.
No Real Movement for Cost Reasons
This more aggressive approach hasn’t deterred residents, especially as rent-to-income ratios remain near recent lows. Along with tracking delinquent rent, we regularly survey former residents about their reasons for moving out. These responses are grouped into broad categories—some benign (e.g., moving for a job), others offering insight into financial situations (e.g., “need to get a roommate,” “lost a job”) So far, we’ve seen little to suggest underlying financial challenges among renters. Both delinquencies and cost-related move-outs point to solid renter balance sheets heading into the second half of the year.
With more than 167,000 units managed nationwide, the Cushman & Wakefield management team is constantly diving into the data gleaned from our boots-on-the-ground experience and operational expertise. Analyzing trends like these helps our clients make informed decisions about their assets, closely monitor performance with a trusted partner, and take a predictive approach to underwriting. We’re excited to see what the data reveals next quarter and look forward to sharing those insights.
