Young People Are Increasingly Driving The Urban Recovery | United States

Sam Tenenbaum • 10/17/2022

Moody’s Analytics shared a slide in a recent presentation to our research team that was particularly interesting to the future of cities when it comes to multifamily. The key takeaway is that young people are returning to cities, driving the urban recovery from the pandemic. This data is based on data from the Equifax credit file, meaning it’s a much timelier look at migration trends across the country than the once-a-year data released by the Census Bureau.

During the pandemic, cities had a hard time retaining population as fear of the virus, as well as affordability pulled residents to the suburbs. 2020 and 202221 there was strong outmigration in these urban gateway markets.
The urban recovery began in 2021 solely in the 18–24-year-old age cohort and got worse across all other age cohorts from 2020.
This year not only has the 18–24-year-old age cohort turned firmly positive, but the performance across the 25–34-year-old age cohort has begun to recover as well. These are the two age groups that are most likely to rent apartments, correlating highly with multifamily fundamentals.
The pull factors of cities will likely keep the trend moving in this direction through 2023.

Young-People-Are-Increasingly-Driving-The-Urban-Recovery

author / contact

Sam Tenenbaum is Cushman & Wakefield’s Head of Multifamily Insights. In this series, he shares unique perspectives on today’s multifamily market, gathered from Cushman & Wakefield’s unique data on the lending environment, strong capital markets presence and the 175,000 units that we manage across the U.S.

Multifamily Capabilities

Our Multifamily advisors help supercharge your portfolio, beyond the typical “where, why, and how” of investing in and managing multi-unit properties.

Learn more

Related Insights

Podcast • Economy

C&W: Behind the Numbers

Our experts cut through the noise to provide you concise commentary on only the most important economic and sector-specific commercial real estate data points.

9/29/2023

Research • Economy

U.S. Government Shutdowns: Four Takeaways From History

Since the current budget and appropriations process was enacted in the U.S. in 1976, there have been 20 funding gaps, but only four resulted in government shutdowns lasting more than a day. Here are four insights from past government shutdowns.

Rebecca Rockey • 9/28/2023

Research • Economy

European Glide Path Report

Our Report provides a synthesised view of the key themes and questions permeating the European capital markets landscape.

Sukhdeep Dhillon • 9/28/2023

Research

European Logistics & Industrial Investment Market

Investment volumes have continued to fall in H1 2023 as investors await new pricing levels to stabilise. Activity is starting to return as new product is being brought to market and as investor conviction in the sector remains strong.

Sally Bruer • 9/28/2023

Research • Workplace

Experience per Square Foot Instant Insights

Welcome to our monthly Experience per Square Foot^TM Insight page. The goal of our Total Workplace Research & Innovation Team is to keep you informed about the latest trends in the dynamic commercial real estate industry. Each month, we will present our own insights and in-depth examination of emerging shifts that can help you make informed real estate decisions.

9/27/2023

Research

Philadelphia Return to Office Report

With the pandemic in the rearview mirror, may firms are looking to return to normalcy. The number one concern is the low levels of office attendance since the end of the pandemic. This has lead to many company initiatives pushing for the Return to Office (RTO).

Michael Hanes • 9/27/2023

Research

Retail Resilience: Consumers at the Helm

This is part one of a three-part series that explores the remarkable resilience of the retail sector and sheds light on its continued growth in an ever-evolving landscape.

James Bohnaker • 9/27/2023