After a long stretch in which one of the two main commercial real estate darlings was multifamily, the minutes of the Federal Reserve's Federal Open Markets Committee meeting in late January were jarring. "CRE prices continued to decline, especially in the multifamily and office sectors, and low levels of transactions in the office sector likely indicated that prices had not yet fully reflected the sector's weaker fundamentals," they wrote.

From co-star with industrial to mention as a disappointing partner of office — quite a fall. There's been a growth of negative news about the property sector, whether another month of negative rent growth; problems brewing in certain areas of multifamily because of the high price of refinancing; or by some counts the slide of transactions in major metros being highest for multifamily.

A new Trepp analysis, largely focusing on examples, points to "more significant fluctuations than usual" in multifamily delinquency rates, writes research analyst Vivek Denkanikotte. "In October 2023, the multifamily rate shot up 79 basis points to 2.64%. After hovering around there for a couple of months, the rate fell 71 basis points in January to 1.91%. Given these developments, the Trepp team has been closely observing the multifamily sector in recent times, keeping a keen eye out for any new developments that could potentially impact the rate's fluctuations."