Connect CRE’s 2026 Multifamily Leadership Series is spotlighting senior voices from across the apartment sector, beginning with Brenda Barrett, CEO of Salt Lake City-based Apartment Management Consultants. The firm placed fifth on the National Multifamily Housing Council’s 2026 Top 50 Property Managers list, and Barrett brings a portfolio-wide perspective to how macroeconomic forces and construction dynamics are shaping operations.
Barrett notes that higher gas prices and broader inflation are feeding directly into development costs. Rising fuel costs and general price pressures increase the expense of building materials and contractor services, which in turn lift overall construction budgets for new multifamily projects. She emphasizes that sponsors planning new communities must proactively underwrite these higher inputs and build additional contingencies into their budgets.
On demand, Barrett observes that the sector is still digesting a significant wave of new apartment supply that started delivering a few years ago. Since then, the pace of new construction starts has slowed, giving existing supply more room to be absorbed. She adds that limited access to homeownership for many Americans is keeping households in rentals for longer periods, providing a steady base of demand that is helping the market work through that earlier development surge.
Regarding rents, Barrett describes conditions as generally flat across the apartment landscape. While some markets have experienced negative rent growth in recent years and others have posted modest gains, she sees early signs of stabilization. However, the large volume of new units that still need to lease up continues to weigh on rent growth and remains the primary headwind to stronger rate increases.
Affordability pressures are especially acute for lower-income renters, Barrett says, citing research that shows a rising share of income going toward rent and utilities nationwide. All 50 states are affected, and wage growth has lagged both inflation and rent increases for years. At the same time, there is an undersupply of affordable rental housing for lower-wage earners in every state. While adding new affordable units might appear to be a straightforward solution, she points to multiple barriers, including elevated labor and construction costs, limited incentives, community resistance and other obstacles.
Barrett argues that improving affordability will require a combination of public- and private-sector responses, ranging from tax and development incentives to supportive legislation and accessible financing. She views it as a complex challenge that demands multiple coordinated tools rather than a single fix. Even so, she sees a constructive shift in the conversation: the affordability gap is now a central issue for industry participants, policymakers and consumers, which she believes could help build momentum toward actionable solutions.
Reflecting on her own career, Barrett says she would not change the intensity of her work ethic, crediting it with creating key opportunities. But she would have focused earlier on building deeper professional relationships, noting that long-term success in multifamily depends not only on what is built, but on who it is built with. Strong ties with peers and reliable vendors, she adds, can evolve into partnerships that help navigate challenges and execute more effectively.
