Dive Brief:

• The headliners on this year’s National Multifamily Housing Council’s list of the top 25 developers remained the same as last year. However, each of the top firms dramatically increased their starts, mirroring a 22.1% jump (to 460,100 units) of starts across the country in 2021 — a level not seen since 1986, according to the NMHC. 
• Charleston, South Carolina-based owner, manager, developer and builder Greystar Real Estate Partners topped the list, starting more than 5,000 units in 2021 than it did in 2022. Phoenix-based Alliance Residential (No. 2) started more than 4,000 units in 2021, Boca Raton, Florida-based Mill Creek Residential (No. 3) started 1,500 more units and Atlanta-based Wood Partners (No. 4) started more than 2,000 more units.
• Dallas-based Trammell Crow Residential, a longtime apartment development behemoth, zoomed from the No. 13 spot to No. 5. Another traditional Texas construction powerhouse, Arlington-based D.R. Horton, through its DHI Communities company, made its inaugural appearance in the Top 25 at No. 6. 

Dive Insight:

Rounding out the top ten from No. 7 to No. 10 were:

• Sandy, Utah-based Bridge Investment Group (No. 25 in 2021)
• Miami-based Related Group (No. 6 in 2021)
• Cleveland-based The NRP Group (No. 5 in 2021)
• Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin-based Continental Properties Co. (didn’t appear last year)

Although the NMHC owners and managers lists were relatively stable with a limited number of new entrants, the smaller developers list welcomed a number of companies, in addition to DHI and Continental, that didn’t appear on the previous year’s list, including:

• Ft. Washington, Pennsylvania-based Toll Brothers Apartment Living (No. 11)
• Dallas-based Trinisic Residential (No. 15)
• Arlington, Virginia-based AvalonBay Communities (No. 20)
• Orlando, Florida-based ZOM Living (No. 22)

The companies that saw the biggest increases in starts included: 

Embedded among the biggest movers are Toll and D.R. Horton — two companies known more for building single-family homes than apartments. In addition, Miami-based Lennar’s LMC ranked No. 24 after sitting at No. 8. 

In the wake of the global financial crisis some single-family builders moved over to apartments. Now, after a decade, they’re becoming regulars among the top multifamily developers.

“I always find it interesting when the single-family home builders are on this list,” said Caitlin Sugrue Walter, vice president of research for the NMHC. “We have three and I think that's the first time we've had that many.”

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