Multifamily Housing: A Review of Theory and Evidence

Abstract

The growing importance of multifamily housing as a viable choice of residence is evidenced by the number of empirical and theoretical studies in the real estate literature. Researchers have investigated the role of this sector of the real estate market for decades. This survey article examines more than one hundred studies and categorizes them into five groups: economic and market efficiency issues; property valuation and appraisal issues; regulatory, zoning and clustering of multifamily complexes; costs, returns and rental income issues; and demand, vacancy and occupancy issues. This study seeks to provide a concise, categorical presentation of findings on issues related to the environment and performance of multifamily housing.

Keywords: multifamily housing, market efficiency, property valuation, appraisal

JEL Classification: R21, R31, R11-15