Coming out of the recession, getting construction deals to make financial sense wasn’t easy. It never is. But for established developers, it wasn’t as hard as it is today either. As lenders tighten requirements, construction costs continue to rise, and rents start to flatten, making financial sense of new-apartment construction is growing increasingly difficult.
In this uncertain environment, experience matters. In core markets, companies with the right pedigree have been able to work the best projects and enjoy enough rent growth to offset rising construction costs.
In the 2016 NMHC Top 25 Developers list, the names might seem reordered a bit from last year, but they’re essentially the same. As the development cycle continues to mature this year, expect to see the same names again a year from now.
| Rank (2016) | Rank (2015) | Company Name |
Units Developed (2015) | Units Developed (2014) | Corporate Officer |
HQ City |
HQ State |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Alliance Residential Company | 7765 | 7500 | Bruce Ward and V. Jay Hiemenz | Phoenix | AZ |
| 2 | 2 | Mill Creek Residential Trust LLC | 6567 | 5397 | Charles R. Brindell and William C. MacDonald | Dallas | TX |
| 3 | 3 | Wood Partners, LLC | 5824 | 4700 | Joe Keough | Atlanta | GA |
| 4 | 7 | Trammell Crow Residential | 4841 | 3983 | Kenneth J. Valach | Dallas | TX |
| 5 | 8 | Greystar Real Estate Partners, LLC | 4699 | 3896 | Robert A. Faith | Charleston | SC |
| 6 | 5 | Lennar Multifamily Communities | 4582 | 4565 | Todd Farrell | Charlotte | NC |
| 7 | 6 | AvalonBay Communities, Inc. | 3758 | 4044 | Timothy J. Naughton | Arlington | VA |
| 8 | 15 | Holland Partner Group | 3536 | 1790 | Clyde Holland | Vancouver | WA |
| 9 | 10 | Lincoln Property Company | 3449 | 2557 | Tim Byrne | Dallas | TX |
| 10 | 18 | Forest City Residential Group, Inc. | 3352 | 1596 | Ronald A. Ratner | Cleveland | OH |
| 11 | 9 | The NRP Group LLC | 3251 | 2658 | J. David Heller and T. Richard Bailey | Cleveland | OH |
| 12 | Hanover Company | 3017 | 3470 | John H. Nash | Houston | TX | |
| 13 | 16 | The Michaels Organization | 2880 | 1766 | John J. O'Donnell | Marlton | NJ |
| 14 | 20 | AMLI Residential | 2561 | 1525 | Greg Mutz | Chicago | IL |
| 15 | Pollack Shores Real Estate Group | 2554 | 1389 | Marc Pollack and Steven Shores | Atlanta | GA | |
| 16 | 17 | StreetLights Residential | 2259 | 1610 | Tom Bakewell | Dallas | TX |
| 17 | The Wolff Company | 2134 | 2685 | Fritz H Wolff | Scottsdale | AZ | |
| 18 | The JBG Companies | 2081 | 589 | Brian Coulter and David Paul | Chevy Chase | MD | |
| 19 | The Richman Group Affordable Housing Corporation | 1908 | 792 | Richard Paul Richman | Greenwich | CT | |
| 20 | Crescent Communities | 1863 | 1205 | Brian Natwick | Charlotte | NC | |
| 21 | JPI | 1840 | 1240 | Mark Bryant | Irving | TX | |
| 22 | 25 | Woodfield Development | 1776 | 1422 | Greg Bonifield | Arlington | VA |
| 23 | ZOM, Inc. | 1770 | 1376 | Greg T. West | Orlando | FL | |
| 24 | 23 | The Dinerstein Companies | 1748 | 1458 | Brian Dinerstein | Houston | TX |
| 25 | 14 | The Calida Group | 1700 | 2220 | Eric Cohen | Las Vegas | NV |
