Multifamily For-Rent Development: affordability is always in style.
When studied at the micro level, the multifamily rent market seems to be in constant flux. It’s up. It’s down. It’s flat. It’s back up again. Inventory is high. Inventory is low.
But when you zoom out, you’ll see one constant: over time, rents go up. A lot.
Since the 1960’s, inflation-adjusted, year-over-year rent growth has outpaced real household incomes by more than three to one.
According to the most recent U.S. Census Bureau, “46% of American renters are now spending 30% or more of their income on housing.” Twenty-three percent “are spending at least 50% of their income this way.” This meets the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s definition of being “cost burdened.”
On top of everything, a lack of homes for sale and climbing mortgage rates are forcing many potential home buyers to choose apartment living.
What does it all mean for potential real estate investors? It means demand has never been higher for more affordable housing. If you want to capture one of history’s largest markets, offer renters better value.
With more than 30 years of experience in building multifamily housing faster, better and for less, Pacific West is built to satisfy that demand with the industry’s highest value offerings.
How we bring affordability to multifamily housing.
With our ultra efficient design-build process, we can significantly lower construction costs. Those savings can then be passed on in the form of lower rents.
That holds true whether we’re constructing market-rate or affordable (income-assisted) for-rent projects.
We’ve taken design-build’s inherent benefits to another level. And that’s saying something. The Construction Industry Institute says that design-build projects come in at least 4% to 5% less than construction management (CM) projects. And they cost 6% less than design-bid-build (DBB) projects.
We push that advantage even further.
Modular manufacturing and construction.
Our modular design-build process allows us to control every step of the construction process. That control enables us to increase livable space, improve workmanship, cut square foot construction costs, reduce build times, and increase project density.
More importantly, we can do all that and provide more affordable rents.
Building “in the dirt” is archaic. It’s costly, wildly inefficient, and relies on unpredictable labor. We now manage and operate our own off-site manufacturing facility where most sections of our apartment buildings are manufactured and assembled. Today, we’re 60% modular with a goal of reaching 100% in the next few years.
We also eliminate the volatility of the materials markets by pre-buying commodities in bulk at the best prices from trusted suppliers well before construction begins.
Our management groups and long-time superintendents have worked project after project with the same teams. They understand our process.
When combined with our innovative products, our advanced building process allows us to give our business partners and renters enhanced quality, lower costs, and building times up to 33% faster than with the competition.
Industry-leading advancements in the field.
Just as with our commitment to off-site manufacturing, we’ve implemented an on-site system that relies on using proven, familiar techniques and materials.
We use the same subcontractors, the same architects and engineers, and the same materials. We use on the same material suppliers. And everyone specializes in multifamily building. We use the same design assemblies job after job. This familiarity with the process is the most proven method to eliminating mistakes. Practice makes perfect.
To keep everything tied together and running seamlessly, everyone associated with the project has use of an exclusive information technology system. The easy-to-use online program, a $4.5 million investment, provides project management, scheduling, and a secure, real-time exchange of information among all project participants. It helps us push efficiency even higher. And it’s all tied in with industry leading s