Explore the affordable housing segment within NMHC 50.
The NMHC Top 50 lists – Owners, Managers, Developers, Builders, and Syndicators—have for decades compiled basic detail on unit counts to determine the top firms for each list. For several years, respondents to the survey have been asked a series of voluntary questions that provide further insight into the type of units each company operates. These questions range from single-family units (which are currently not counted in the overall unit count) to subsets of the overall unit count, such as subsidized housing and age-restricted housing. This analysis delves deeper into one of those questions—the number of subsidized units.
As academics and policymakers, alike, continue to evaluate the state of our nation’s housing, this analysis provides helpful insight into the affordable housing segment of the market. While there are a handful of policy solutions to effectively and affordably build subsidized rental units, there is much debate on which are the most effective. To that end, this analysis also sheds light into the potential range of expertise firms listed on the NMHC 50 may have on the matter.
It is important to note that this analysis does not attempt to create lists of firms with the largest number of subsidized units in the United States; rather, these are the number of subsidized units for firms which made one of the NMHC 50 lists in terms of overall counts. A few additional caveats:
- The term “subsidized” was used rather than “affordable” in an attempt to make it clear that market-rate affordable multifamily rental units should not be included in this count. Subsidized was further defined for respondents as income-restricted multifamily rental units (units in buildings with 5 or more units) for residents earning up to 80% of area median income as of January 1, 2024. This analysis is based off of that specific definition; it is highly possible that many firms on these lists have other types of attainable housing that do not fit under this technical definition.
- The NMHC 50 survey asks several optional unit count questions including the number of subsidized units. Just because a firm is not identified as having subsidized units on the NMHC 50 list does not mean that they do not have subsidized units; it could also mean that the firm representative chose not to respond to that question.
Owners and Managers
NMHC 50 Top Owners firm reported over 250,000 subsidized units owned as of January 1, 2024—again, that number could be higher, as many firms did not report their subsidized unit counts. The Related Companies, LP (#10) and The Michaels Organization (#7) reported the largest number of subsidized units of the NMHC 50 Top Owners firms, with 51,760 and 44,838 units respectively. In terms of share of portfolio, Dominium (#26) topped the list, with 97% of its 38,971 units subsidized. Fairstead (#50), followed, reporting 85% of its 25,810 units subsidized.
[Note: Bubble size represents the share of total units that are subsidized]
Nearly 600,000 NMHC 50 Top Managers units were reported as subsidized units (13% of all managed units included). 32 of the Top 50 firms reported at least some subsidized units in their portfolio, with several firms having a larger share of subsidized units under management than market-rate units. Dominium (#42) again taking the top slot for the largest share of their portfolio reported as subsidized (97.2%). United Apartment Group (#43) reported a similar share, however, with 96.9% of their 38,727 units under management subsidized. FPI Management, Inc. (#6) reported the largest number of subsidized units under management (75,495 units), followed by WinnCompanies (#10) with 55,883 units.
Builders and Developers
It is now widely acknowledged that it is expensive to build new apartment communities, and construction of affordable housing is very difficult without some sort of government subsidy, but responses to this year’s survey indicates that some firms successfully have been able to utilize existing government programs to make the numbers work. Several firms on both this year’s Top 25 Developers and Top Builders lists managed to begin construction on new subsidized units. All of Dominium’s 3,054 units started (#15 on the Developers list, #15 on the Builders list) in 2023 were subsidized. This was also the highest count reported of all Top Developer firms that reported. On the Top Builders list, nearly one-third (30%) of Summit Contracting Group’s (#1) 12,467 starts were subsidized, making them the largest builder of subsidized units by unit count.
[Note: Bubble size represents the share of total units that are subsidized]
There were many developers that reported a substantial share of their overall multifamily starts as subsidized—SoLa Impact (#16 on overall list) came in second, with 59% of their total 2,885 units started reported as subsidized. Similarly, on the Top Builders list both Harkins Builders (#17) and LDG Companies (#18) reported over half of their starts as subsidized, with 60% and 56%, respectively.
The Bottom Line
There have been a variety of legislative and regulatory proposals introduced at all levels of government in an attempt to address the housing affordability crisis that is impacting low and middle-income renters. It is clear that there are examples of firms that have been able to make developing and operating properties to the renters most in need of assistance financially viable; as proposals take shape, it will be important to hear from these firms to learn best practices and what could be done better, in an attempt to scale up the number of renters that are assisted.
About Caitlin Sugrue Walter
Caitlin Sugrue Walter, Ph.D., is Vice President of Research, with primary responsibility for conducting NMHC's research on apartment industry trends. Prior to working at the Council, Caitlin was an analyst at a real estate advisory firm. Caitlin has a B.A. and B.S. (Planning and Public Policy, Criminal Justice) from Rutgers University. She also holds an M.A. in Urban and Regional Planning and a Ph.D. in Planning, Governance and Globalization with a concentration on metropolitan economies and development from Virginia Tech. She is an active member of the National Association for Business Economics, a member of Up for Growth’s Advisory Board, and is a member of the Eastern Panhandle Advisory Council for Girls on the Run of the Shenandoah Valley.
She can be reached at cwalter@nmhc.org.