Phoenix is the No. 2 "buy" market in the US for multifamily properties, according to a recent study by Ten-X Research. The report’s top five "buy" markets included Orlando, Atlanta, Fort Lauderdale and Las Vegas. Nationally, apartment demand is experiencing a six-year surge, with a vacancy rate of 4.5% indicative of healthy demand. Around 260,000 new units will go up across the country this year.

Ten-X chose its top "buy" and "sell" markets based on projected NOI growth, vacancy improvement and rent growth. Phoenix landed its coveted No. 2 spot thanks to projected growth for the professional services and financial sectors at 5.5% and 6.4%, respectively. The market is also a hit because of steadily rising rents, which are up 5.9% from last year. Phoenix’s consistent job growth of 3.5% year after year will culminate with these factors to boost NOI about 5.5% each year through 2018.

“Several factors are driving apartment demand, not the least of which are the fundamental demographic shifts driven by Millennial renters,” Ten-X Research chief economist Peter Muoio says. “While homeownership increased slightly in the first quarter of 2016, trends suggest that more and more households will opt to rent, rather than own, in the near term. In general, young people, who witnessed the Great Recession firsthand, are more averse to purchasing homes, particularly as couples tend to marry and have children later in life.”