A sPECIAL sUPPLEmEnT To nATIonAL REAL EsTATE InvEsToR
ApArtMeNt MANAGeMeNt by tier 3,000
Top 10 Top 25 Top 50
Units (thousands)
2,500 2,000 2,000 1,500 1,000 500
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Hunt Companies, Inc. registered the largest portfolio gain, adding 16,489 units. Five other firms also had portfolio gains of more than 8,000 units. The Related Companies 1,925.6 made the biggest jump in the rankings, up 13 slots to No. 23. Berkshire Property Advisors also made a double-digit move, climbing 1,156.3 10 places to the No. 40 position. Overall, firms on this year’s management list added a combined 61,628 apartments to their portfolios, as 34 companies grew compared to the 2010 2012 16 firms that shed assets. The total number of apartments managed by the Top 50 companies is the highest on record. The share of the entire apartment stock under management by the NMHC 50 rose to 15.8 percent, also a new high. Both the mean and the median rose and set new all-time highs. The minimum size needed to make it into the Top 50 edged down a bit from last year’s record, but at 27,573 units is still the second-highest threshold since the rankings began. Concentration trends were mixed last year. The portfolios of the 10 largest firms make up 41.7 percent of the Top 50, down from 43 percent last year—the group’s lowest share in 18 years. Apartments managed by the next 10 firms (No. 11 through No. 20 in the rankings) rose to 19.7 percent from 18.6 percent a year ago. The percentage marks a sizable share but is below 2005’s high-water mark of 20.8 percent. All of the Top 50 firms manage market-rate apartments. In addition, 32 companies have Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) properties in their portfolios—and of those, 19 also manage non-LIHTC affordable properties. Eighteen firms have senior housing apartments under management, although only Pinnacle Family of Companies has more than 20,000 such units. The South Atlantic region is home to properties from 44 of the Top 50 managers, the most of any region. At the other end of the spectrum, 23 of the Top 50 manage properties in the New England region. 2,776.0
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in the South Atlantic region and 64 percent have properties in New England while each of the other seven regions has properties owned by 78 percent to 86 percent of the firms on the NMHC 50 ownership list.
Apartment Managers Stability was the theme at the top of the NMHC management list. For the fourth consecutive year, the same firms made up the Top 10. Greystar Real Estate Partners LLC remains in the top spot for the second straight year, while Riverstone Residential Group kept its second place ranking. Lincoln Property Company (No. 3) and Pinnacle Family of Companies (No. 4) switched places—the only ranking change among the Top 10. There were five new firms on the management list this year, two of which debuted in the Top 20. Apartment Management Consultants LLC (No. 12) was a first-time survey respondent, while Hunt Companies, Inc. (No. 17) consolidated its reporting, including former Top 50 manager LEDIC under its umbrella this year. The other newcomers—Weidner Apartment Homes (No. 43), Harbor Group International (No. 48) and Orion Real Estate Services Inc. (No. 50)—rode portfolio increases to a Top 50 ranking.
ApArtMeNt MANAGers Largest portfolio Growth Hunt Companies, Inc. Weidner Apartment Homes Lincoln Property Company The Related Companies Alliance Residential Company Riverstone Residential Group 14
NMHC 50
Apartments + 16,489 + 11,043 + 10,608 + 9,850 + 8,432 + 8,159
Moving Up in rank The Related Companies Berkshire Property Advisors Essex Property Trust, Inc. The Lynd Company Forest City Residential Group, Inc.
slots + 13 + 10 +8 +6 +5
APRIL 2012