COSTA MESA, CA—Millennials are not looking for their piece of the rock like previous generations did—and many wouldn’t qualify for a home loan even if they were, said panelists at RealShare Orange County here Tuesday. These are among the many factors that make for a continued robust multifamily market—particularly in Orange County, where home prices are high.
Speakers on the panel, “Multifamily: On the Rise or at its Peak” were consistent in their appraisal of the market as far from over, although it depends which market you’re looking at, said Gary Goodman, SVP | acquisitions for PASSCO Cos. LLC. Goodman said the largest group of Americans is age 23, and they have college debt and are waiting longer to marry and have children, which means they tend to rent apartments for longer than previous generations did. “There are a lot of structural changes going on in multifamily that bode well for the industry—we have a long way to go.”
Chuck Packard, CFO for Pacific American Real Estate Development, said that regulations like Dodd-Frank will limit lending for home mortgages, which is good for multifamily. He added that “Millennials are not looking for their piece of the rock like we did,” another good sign for the sector.
Moderator Bob Champion, founder, president and managing director for Champion Real Estate Co., said the market is strong because there’s “still tremendous undersupply.” He added that we could be looking at multiple cycles at work, with the end of a credit super-cycle near.