As demand across the apartment industry continued to outpace supply, 2014 proved the bull market still has spring in its step. The National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) is reporting notable growth across the industry in the newly-released 2015 NMHC Top 50 – the industry's ranking of top apartment owners and managers. 

"While one might expect the apartment industry expansion to have reached its peak, we are seeing the opposite," said Mark Obrinsky, NMHC's Senior Vice President of Research and Chief Economist. "Renter growth remains at historic highs and for the fourth time in the last five years, we saw an increase of more than one million new renters."

The number of apartments in the portfolios of the NMHC Top 50 managers rose to an all-time high, just short of 3 million. Notably, all five of the biggest NMHC Top 50 owners specialize in affordable housing. 

Hunt Companies of El Paso, Texas retained its top spot on the owners list (244,451 units owned) and Greystar Real Estate Partners, LLC of Charleston, S.C. (393,079 units managed) continued its dominance on the list of top managers for the fifth consecutive year. 

The nation's growing appetite for rental housing is also keeping apartment developers and general contractors busy. For the first time this year, the NMHC is expanding its top lists to include the nation's Top 25 Developers and Top 25 General Contractors.  

Phoenix-based Alliance Residential Company, No. 1 on the Top 25 Developers list, had an impressive year in 2014 and started construction on 7,500 new units of multifamily housing. 

NMHC 50 highlights, by the numbers:

• $112 billion – 2015 transaction levels, a new record level and all-time high. Nine percent increase over 2013 transaction levels.
• $3.5 billion – The amount that apartments and their residents contribute to the U.S. economy every day.
• 8 million– The number of new renters in the past decade, making this the highest figure on record.
• 2,941,939 – The combined portfolios of the NMHC 50 Managers, an all-time high and three percent increase over 2014 total. 
• 154,270 – The difference between the combined portfolios of NMHC 50 Managers and NMHC 50 Owners. The largest difference since 1998, underscoring the growth of managerial portfolios.
• 58,839 – The record-breaking mean portfolio of the NMHC 50 managers. The median (44,714) also set a new record.
• 21 – Number of spots the biggest NMHC 50 Owner mover, Essex (Palo Alto, Calif.), jumped on the owner's list after purchasing BRE and gaining 23,060 units. BH Equities, LLC (Des Moines, Iowa)made the second largest move on the NMHC Owners list, up 11 spots to No. 18.
• 9 – Companies appearing on the 2015 NMHC 50 Owner and Manager lists that did not appear last year.
• 5 – All top five of the biggest NMHC 50 owners specialize in subsidized or low-income housing.
• 4 – Companies making their NMHC 50 debut. New to the owners list include Steadfast Companies (No. 40; Irvine, Calif.), Cortland Partners, LLC (No. 43; Atlanta, Ga.).New on the manager list are Bridge Investment Group (No. 39; Salt Lake City, Utah) and LivCor, LLC (No. 46; Chicago, Ill.). 

The listing comes on the heels of a new study from the NMHC and National Apartment Association (NAA) that revealed the industry's tremendous economic impact. Apartments and their residents contribute $1.3 trillion annually to the economy and support 12.3 million jobs nationwide.

NMHC partners with Kingsley Associates, a leading real estate research and consulting firm, for the NMHC 50's research and analysis. Detailed information is available at www.nmhc.org/NMHC50.