Gen Z is surpassing millennials as the largest renter cohort dominating the multifamily market, which has comprised 42% of all CRE sales since the start of the pandemic, according to a new Cushman & Wakefield and Greystone report. 

The sector has been favored by strong supply-demand fundamentals, as US household formation hit 1.3 million in 2021 and is projected to hit a peak of 1.5 million in 2023. The report analysts note that the rental sector could absorb a "higher than usual share" of that new demand due to low inventory and home affordability challenges. Low vacancy and solid rent growth are predicted in the near term, especially in the Sun Belt. 

And "as the multifamily market undergoes a demographic transition, Generation Z (those born between 1997 and 2012) will quickly supplant millennials as the largest renter cohort," Cushman experts note in a new report. And "this is just the beginning. By 2025, Millennials and Generation Z will represent the same percentage of renters and by 2030, Generation Z will be kings of the 'renterverse.'"