Multifamily investment activity has roared back after "a couple of weak quarters" during the pandemic, said Richard Barkham, global chief economist and head of Americas research at CBRE said at the recent GlobeSt.com Multifamily conference in Los Angeles. There are positive trends in every region across the country, and even the big cities, he notes, have rebounded.

In the Western US, apartment rents are up and vacancy rates are down. Cap rates have continued to compress to the mid-4% range in the first half of the year, and Barkham predicts that there is more to come. The cap rate compression has come the most dramatically in suburban markets due to strong inward migration and investment demand, Barkham said that only time will tell if this is a temporary trend or a new normal in apartment demand.

While the Western US has the best metric trends, the Southern markets are leading in investment volumes. Dallas/Ft. Worth and Atlanta specifically were among the most active markets. Dallas alone had $7.7 billion of investment activity in the first half of the year, while Atlanta raked in $6 billion in investment. According to Barkham, the Midwestern markets have the best cap rates, offering better yields than other top emerging markets.