Immigration remains one of the most influential forces shaping multifamily housing demand in the United States. Although the foreign-born population dipped from its 2022–2024 peak of 53.3 million to 51.9 million by mid-2025, apartment absorption stayed stronger than expected. The reason: household formation trends, not just immigration counts, drive renter demand. Newly arrived immigrants often live in shared housing before forming households, young adults are moving out at higher rates again, and Lawful Permanent Residents continue to create steady renter demand. Deportation activity appears to influence construction labor availability more than rental absorption, since roughly 30% of construction workers are foreign-born.
Importantly, today’s immigration flow includes more high-skilled workers entering through employment-based programs such as H-1B. Their incomes align with demand for Class A and B rentals in high-opportunity markets, countering the notion that immigration primarily supports Class C housing.
While 2025’s immigration slowdown may be overstated due to data noise, most forecasts show levels normalizing by 2027. This timing aligns with a steep drop-off in the multifamily supply pipeline and a gradually improving capital environment. Because development cycles typically take 24–30 months, today’s investment could deliver units into a market with lower supply, rising household formation, and renewed foreign-born demand creating meaningful opportunity for multifamily investors and developers.
