Real Estate News - October 2025

Luxury Apartment Fraud Surges as Renters Exploit Loopholes Nationwide

Social media scams and weak tenant screening are fueling a surge in rental application fraud—especially in oversupplied Sunbelt markets like Atlanta.

The Atlanta Hotspot: The city’s housing imbalance has made it a hotspot for fake rental applications. Greystar reports falsified information in as many as 50% of submissions at some properties. On TikTok, influencers promote tactics like forged pay stubs, fabricated employment letters, and fake Social Security numbers—known as Credit Profile Numbers (CPNs)—to secure high-end apartments.

Fraud Goes Viral: Influencers openly sell “rental fraud packages,” some priced up to $1,250, claiming they can help renters with low income, poor credit, or past evictions land luxury units. Many property owners, eager to fill vacancies, fall victim due to lax screening processes.

Underlying Drivers: Since 2020, Atlanta has added 111,000 new apartments—among the most in the U.S.—while losing over 230,000 affordable units under $1,500. With luxury units sitting empty and mid-income renters squeezed out, fraud has become a tempting shortcut.

Wider Impact: Rental fraud is spreading fast, with cities like South Florida, Washington D.C., and Houston seeing increases of up to 40%. Landlords are adopting AI-driven tools such as Snappt and ApproveShield, but fraudsters are adapting—often paying rent on time to avoid detection.

What’s at Stake: Fake renters distort market data by inflating demand and prices. Property managers report more unit damage and higher eviction rates. Once evicted, these tenants face long-term damage to their rental history.

The Bottom Line:
Atlanta’s rental fraud boom reflects deeper housing issues: too much luxury supply, too little affordability, and outdated vetting systems. Until those core problems are fixed, landlords will remain locked in a cat-and-mouse game with increasingly sophisticated scammers.

Investors Revisit Vintage Multifamily Assets

In today’s high-cost capital environment, smaller and older multifamily buildings are drawing renewed investor interest—driven in part by the accessibility of agency financing.

A tale of two sectors: While 2025 office transactions generally reflect the age of the existing stock (most built in the 1980s), multifamily deals tell a different story. Recent acquisitions are skewing older—often from the 1960s or earlier—even in markets where the typical inventory is decades newer.

Legacy stock still standing: The 1960s construction boom added more than 76,000 multifamily buildings, primarily smaller assets that continue to make up a large share of the market. In later decades, development shifted toward fewer but larger complexes, leaving these mid-century properties especially prevalent in the Northeast, Midwest, and established coastal metros.

Vintage deals take the lead: In 31 metros, the median multifamily property sold in 2025 was built in the 1960s or earlier. Markets such as San Francisco, Baltimore, and New Orleans saw traded assets more than 30 years older than their median stock. Only a handful of metros—like Raleigh and Las Vegas—broke the pattern with newer sales.

The financing factor: Older, smaller multifamily properties demand less equity and offer easier access to capital in a constrained market. Many also qualify for agency financing—affordable, reliable loans from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—available only for stabilized residential assets. This access may be directing more capital toward vintage buildings by simplifying and accelerating the financing process.

Looking ahead: In a market where capital remains tight, investors are favoring older multifamily properties—not out of nostalgia, but for their financing flexibility and lower barriers to entry. Expect this trend to persist until capital conditions ease or pricing on newer assets adjusts.