Greystar’s management portfolio has moved 1 million units in the United States, as it once again claimed the top spot on the National Multifamily Housing Council’s list of the biggest apartment industry owners and managers.
As of Jan. 1, the Charleston, South Carolina-based firm operated 1,014,091 apartments and owned 119,160 apartments. Greystar surpassed 1 million units managed through a combination of organic growth and two strategic property management lift-out acquisitions, according to a company spokesperson.
One of those occurred in September 2025, when the company announced a strategic partnership with Denver-based apartment owner Grand Peaks, adding 11,000 apartment homes across seven states to its property management platform.
Beyond Greystar, there was movement among key companies on both NMHC’s owner and manager lists, as well as notable new entrants.
Management momentum
Houston-based Asset Living held the No. 2 spot on the managers list for the third straight year as it climbed toward half a million apartments. Last year, the firm reportedly bought FPI Management.
Dallas-based Willow Bridge Property Company was next with 244,457 apartments, followed by Austin, Texas-based RPM Living with 241,479 homes. Cushman & Wakefield fell out of the top 5 to No. 7 and lost 14,046 units.
AMC moved into the top 5 after picking up nearly 3,000 units. In an interview last year, CEO Brenda Barrett told Multifamily Dive that the firm preferred organic growth to mergers as it expanded over the past 25 years.
“We’ve never had one person in our organization that has ever been focused on generating new business for us,” Barrett said. “And it’s really been starting with a small core group of clients in the first couple of years that has led to where we are today.”
Other changes in the top 10 include Avenue5 Residential moving from No. 8 to No. 6, Bozzuto moving from No. 9 to No. 8, WinnCompanies moving from No. 10 to No. 9 and ZRS Management entering at No. 10. FPI, No. 6 last year, is no longer on the Top 50, despite no formal acquisition announcement.
Outside of Greystar and Asset Living (gaining 157,762 units), the biggest gainers on the operators list were once again ZRS Management, adding 21,026 units, Avenue5 Residential, adding 11,127 units, and Bozzuto, adding 11,885 units.
The other big gainers were new entrants to the Top 50: Arqline, ranked No. 40 after gaining 21,591 units; MLG Capital, ranked No. 42 with 6,431 more units; SRG Residential, ranked No. 44 with 5,790 additional units; and Kairoi Residential, ranked No. 46 with 13,014 additional units. American Landmark, which has been scaling up, made an appearance at No. 50. Morgan Properties returned to the list after being absent in 2025.
Outside of Cushman & Wakefield, BH Management Services (13,012 fewer units), Bell Partners (7,021 fewer units), The Related Cos. (4,044 fewer units) and The Michaels Organization (2,556 fewer units) posted the biggest apartment management declines.
Owner shifts
The NMHC Top 50 owners list saw Morgan Properties jump from No. 3 to No. 2, posting the list’s largest gain with 13,748 units. Though it picked up nearly 1,000 units, MAA fell from No. 2 to No. 3. Another REIT, AvalonBay Communities, gained 3,443 units, rising from No. 6 to No. 4. Nuveen Real Estate remained at No. 5.
Equity Residential dropped from No. 5 to No. 6, while Cortland rose from No. 9 to No. 7 as it gained 2,884 units. The Related Cos. fell from No. 7 to No. 8 with 3,119 fewer units, and was the only top-10 firm with a notable decline. Hunt Cos. jumped from No. 17 to No. 9, gaining more than 10,000 units. Monarch Investment Group also added apartments, but fell from No. 8 to No. 10.
Outside of Morgan and Hunt, FPA Multifamily (adding 10,609 units), Fairfield Residential (5,280 additional units), TruAmerica Multifamily (4,143 additional units) and MLG Capital (3,419 more units) showed the largest growth.
TruAmerica has been in growth mode recently, adding new properties and making multiple rounds of executive promotions. The firm also combined with Toronto-based Manulife Investment Management last fall to form a $1 billion affordable housing joint venture named Anchor Point Residential.
“Creating an affordable housing platform has always been on the roadmap of TruAmerica’s growth plan,” Chief Investment Officer Noah Hochman told Multifamily Dive in emailed comments last year.
The firms posting the biggest declines on the owners list were Heitman (3,351 fewer units under ownership), The Related Cos. (3,119 fewer units), Mill Creek Residential (3,051 fewer units) and The Michaels Organization (2,012 fewer units).
New entrants to the Top 50 included Liberty Military Housing (No. 28), Trammell Crow Residential (No. 43), Fairstead (No. 47), Continental Properties Co. (No. 49) and Wood Partners (No. 50).
Some merchant developers have been forced to hold apartments longer than anticipated due to a sluggish sales market. However, Continental employs a more traditional develop-and-hold model.
“Our strategic plan calls for more than a 50% increase in homes within our portfolio over the course of the plan,” CEO James Schloemer told Multifamily Dive in emailed comments. “So, in our case, the growth in the portfolio is strategic in nature.”
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