Multifamily sales volume was nearly unchanged nationwide in the first half of 2026, but the flat headline concealed a substantial shift in where capital landed. Sales totaled $41.1 billion, down just 0.3 percent from the same period last year, according to Yardi Matrix data.

Deal flow nevertheless broadened. Some 1,230 properties changed hands, 7.1 percent more than 12 months ago, while the number of units traded increased by 5.8 percent. The average price per unit moved in the opposite direction, down 5.8 percent to $188,401. In other words, more assets and apartments traded, but at lower average prices.

Capital also became considerably more concentrated. The 10 markets below generated $16.4 billion in sales, up 20.9 percent year-over-year, accounting for 39.9 percent of national investment volume, compared with 32.9 percent a year earlier. The rest of the country saw volume decline by 10.7 percent.

The ranking is based on total multifamily sales volume recorded during the first half of 2026. Property and unit counts, average pricing, year-over-year performance and asset-class composition provide additional context.

Key Highlights

• The leading markets captured 39.9 percent of national sales volume while accounting for only 27.4 percent of the properties sold.
• Chicago led the ranking with $2.8 billion in sales, nearly double the year-earlier volume.
• Northern New Jersey registered the strongest percentage increase in investment volume, up 103.5 percent, while Phoenix posted the steepest decline, down 24.6 percent.
• Los Angeles recorded the fastest increase in average price per unit, up 17.5 percent, while Houston registered the sharpest decline, at 14.6 percent.
• RBN investment grew almost three times as fast as Lifestyle volume across the ranked markets.
• Atlanta, Dallas and Phoenix were the only ranked markets with lower sales volumes.
  

  1. Chicago

  Chicago recorded $2.8 billion in multifamily sales during the first half, up 94.8 percent year-over-year and the largest absolute increase in the ranking. Investors acquired 56 properties encompassing 12,915 units—more than double the apartment count traded a year earlier.

  The surge was driven by activity rather than pricing. The average price per unit declined 12.6 percent to $213,256, but Chicago still led both asset classes by dollar volume. RBN sales nearly tripled to $1.3 billion, while Lifestyle volume rose to almost $1.5 billion. The result produced one of the most balanced investment mixes among the leading markets.

  Large transactions contributed to the unit count. In May, R.I.G. Capital acquired Pavilion Apartments, a 1,115-unit community in the O’Hare submarket, for $167 million—Chicago’s largest multifamily sale during the first half.

  2. Washington, D.C.

  Washington, D.C., followed with slightly more than $2.0 billion in sales, a 73.6 percent increase from the first half of 2025. A total of 27 properties comprising 7,219 units changed hands. Unlike Chicago, the metro paired the sharp rise in activity with higher pricing: The average price per unit increased 3.3 percent to $283,851.

  Lifestyle assets generated $1.3 billion, or 64.5 percent of the total. RBN volume was smaller at $728 million, but more than doubled year-over-year, making it the faster-growing segment.

  One large suburban portfolio helped lift the unit count. In February, 29th Street Capital acquired three communities totaling 1,225 units in Prince George’s County, Md. The price was not disclosed.

  3. Miami

  Miami recorded $1.8 billion in multifamily sales, up 36.4 percent year-over-year. Investors traded 24 properties encompassing 5,847 units, a 17.2 percent increase in units traded. The average price per unit rose considerably faster, advancing 16.5 percent to $310,082.

  The metro remained heavily tilted toward Lifestyle properties, which accounted for $1.4 billion, or 76.0 percent of total volume. However, RBN investment supplied a disproportionate share of the growth, climbing from $118 million to $436 million, while Lifestyle sales rose 16.9 percent.

  Among the larger first-half trades, Greystar acquired ownership interests in two South Florida communities totaling 639 units from Starwood Capital Group and subsequently secured $151 million in financing for the properties.

  4. Atlanta

  Atlanta retained a top-five position despite a 12.7 percent decline in sales volume to $1.8 billion. Investors acquired 39 properties totaling 9,696 units, with the apartment count falling 14.2 percent year-over-year. Average pricing moved only slightly, rising 1.8 percent to $181,285 per unit, indicating that the pullback came primarily from lower activity.

  The decline was concentrated in Lifestyle assets. Sales in the segment fell 17.8 percent to $1.3 billion but still represented nearly three-quarters of the metro’s total. Meanwhile, RBN investment volume moved in the opposite direction, increasing 14.9 percent to $453 million.

  In April, Elmington Residential paid approximately $73 million for Resia Tributary, a 433-unit community in Douglasville. The 2023-built property has since been rebranded as Sylvan Tributary.

  5. Dallas

  Dallas followed with $1.7 billion in multifamily sales, down 14.3 percent from the first half of 2025. The metro recorded 48 transactions encompassing 10,817 apartments, the second-highest property count and unit total in the ranking, behind Chicago. Scale kept Dallas among the leaders even as the number of units traded declined 8.9 percent.

  DFW registered lower activity and pricing: Both asset classes lost ground, with Lifestyle volume down 15.3 percent to $1.3 billion and RBN sales declining 11.2 percent to $456 million, while the average price per unit fell 5.9 percent to $158,503.

  One first-quarter transaction involved The Heights at Park Lane, a 325-unit community acquired by The Dinerstein Cos. from Sares Regis Group. The purchase was backed by a $75 million acquisition loan from MassMutual.

  6. Phoenix

  Phoenix posted the steepest investment decline among the top 10, with sales falling 24.6 percent to $1.5 billion. The contraction reflected fewer trades rather than weaker pricing: The number of properties sold fell 32.4 percent to 23, while units traded declined 27.4 percent to 5,428. Meanwhile, the average price per unit increased 3.7 percent to $271,503.

  Investment declined across both asset classes, although the pullback was considerably sharper among RBN properties. Volume in the segment fell 46.1 percent to $195.5 million. Lifestyle sales decreased 19.8 percent to $1.3 billion and accounted for 86.7 percent of the metro’s total, the largest share among the ranked markets.

  Large assets still changed hands during the period. In March, TerraCap Management paid $82.2 million for Tresa at Arrowhead Apartments, a 360-unit community in Glendale. The roughly $228,220-per-unit price was below the metro average.

  7. Los Angeles

  Los Angeles was the only market in the ranking where investment volume remained essentially flat. Sales volume edged up 0.5 percent to $1.3 billion, even as the number of units sold fell 14.5 percent to 3,627 across 29 properties.

  The difference came down to pricing and asset mix. The average price per unit rose 17.5 percent to $356,133—the fastest increase among the top 10 markets and the second-highest price after San Jose. Lifestyle investment climbed 32.6 percent to $801 million, while RBN volume declined 28.0 percent to $491 million. In effect, fewer but more expensive assets kept overall sales volume virtually unchanged.

  8. Northern New Jersey

  Northern New Jersey recorded the strongest year-over-year percentage increase in the ranking. Investment volume more than doubled to $1.2 billion, while the number of units sold jumped 118.9 percent to 3,923 across 27 properties.

  Unlike Los Angeles, Northern New Jersey’s growth came primarily from increased transaction activity. The average price per unit declined 7.0 percent to $306,203. Both asset classes attracted considerably more capital, but Lifestyle communities generated the larger increase. Lifestyle volume rose 115.1 percent to $836 million and represented nearly 70 percent of total investment, while RBN volume increased 85.9 percent to $366 million.

  In January, Sym Investments acquired the 232-unit SilverLake Apartments in Belleville for $80 million, or roughly $344,800 per unit, above Northern New Jersey’s per-unit average for the period.

  9. Houston

  Houston produced $1.2 billion in sales, a 12.4 percent year-over-year increase. Its 48 property trades encompassed 11,117 units, the second-highest apartment count in the ranking after Chicago and a 31.6 percent increase from a year earlier.

  The high level of activity contrasted with the metro’s comparatively low pricing. The average price per unit declined 14.6 percent to $106,636, the lowest among the top 10 markets. RBN volume surged 71.9 percent to $571 million, offsetting a 15.0 percent drop in Lifestyle investment to $614 million. The resulting split was nearly even, with the market’s overall gain coming entirely from the RBN segment.

  10. San Jose

  San Jose rounded out the ranking with nearly $1.2 billion in investment volume, marking a 55.3 percent increase from the first half of 2025. Only 16 properties comprising 2,608 units changed hands, the lowest totals on both measures among the top 10 markets, although the number of apartments traded increased 39.7 percent.

  High pricing allowed this relatively small pool of transactions to generate substantial dollar volume. San Jose posted the ranking’s highest average price per unit at $448,083, up 11.2 percent from the first half of 2025.

  Growth was concentrated in the Lifestyle segment, where investment surged 146.7 percent to $776 million and accounted for roughly two-thirds of the market’s total investment. Meanwhile, RBN sales declined 12.9 percent to $381 million, with another $11.8 million coming from an unclassified transaction.