What’s going on in the Worcester County real estate market, how will it affect those leasing multifamily properties and which landlords are set to come out on top?

Evolving trends can either hamper local landlords’ ability to compete or offer great opportunities for real estate investors that are quick to capitalize on them. So what do you need to know?

5 Multifamily Housing Trends to Watch…

1. Multifamily Growth

While there has been talk of the real estate market turning around for the last couple of years we still haven’t really reached the launch-pad level that will spring us into a new extended boom. Multifamily has certainly fared much better than most other sectors but even apartment owners should expect significant growth over the next couple of years. The National Association of Realtors forecasts national rent growth of almost 5% annually through 2014 for those leasing multifamily properties. As we know from historical cycles Worcester, MA generally swings wider than national averages through these cycles indicating much bigger yield growth for those getting in now. Currently Boston boasts the third highest rate of industrial investment sales in the U.S. outside of California at $78 per square foot. While it may continue to act as a gateway city this will no doubt continue to drive more corporations out to Worcester while driving up demand for local rentals as workers seek new housing, compounding the trend.

2. Crowdfunding for Acquisitions

While the commercial mortgage lending market is beginning to thaw and loosen up and the SEC continues to drag its feet on the specifics of the JOBS Act crowdfunding is being leveraged by innovative investors looking to pool funds for investment property acquisitions. Between this and the ongoing availability of non-performing loans there is no reason any aspiring investor or Worcester area landlord can’t raise the capital they need to make great acquisitions fast.

3. Worcester, Massachusetts Ranked #1 for Love

Zillow recently released its new ‘In the Move for Love Index’ that tracks and ranks the best cities for finding love. This is based on affordability of rents, walkability, income levels and ratios of young singles. Well Worcester, MA took first place for 2013! That’s something to shout about and with a huge number of breakups going on due to shifts in the economy this is a great time for landlords to capitalize on this branding and draw incoming singles to their units.

4. Smoking Ban for Massachusetts Apartments

The Worcester Housing Authority current maintains for nonsmoking buildings but if a new bill finds its way to getting passed we could find Massachusetts a smoke-free state for multifamily housing by law. In the meantime there are furious opponents on both sides of the debate. While landlords can certainly find they can reduce expenses and preserve the value of their properties better by banning smoking altogether there is certainly opportunity for charging a premium for both smoking and non-smoking rentals. So choose a side and bank on it.