Street Smart Success

After remaining firm over the past couple years, lenders are finally starting to capitulate and selling assets for less than loan amounts. This is resulting in great opportunities for savvy investors. Bruce Fraser, Managing Partner of Elkhorn Capital Partners, has jumped back into the market after two years of inactivity to take advantage of these great opportunities. Bruce is now seeing real value with distressed properties at dee...

The commercial real estate market has been majorly challenged over the past couple years. Interest rate increases and rising expenses coupled with flat to declining rents have put major pressure on many assets. More recently, geopolitical uncertainty including war and tariffs has caused a further slowdown in transactions. Deals are getting done, but it’s been the most challenging time over the past couple decades. Cliff Booth...

After several years of exorbitant multifamily prices, sellers are being forced to face the music and get more realistic about the values of their assets. This is resulting in the best opportunity to acquire multifamily in over a decade. Prices are now 30%-40% below their peak plus operational upside to achieve great returns. Brent Neely, Founder of Neely Property Investments, is investing in Boise, Idaho because of its rapidly grow...

One of the hottest real estate asset classes in the country is Senior Living. Occupancy levels have caught up and even exceeded pre-covid levels. 10,000 people per day are turning 80 years old and this number is increasing. The average age of senior facility residents is 83, so the number of people who will need some type of Senior Living is about to explode and continue for the next two decades. Matt Johnson, Founder of McFarlin g...

AirBnB can be a great business, but there’s been major oversupply in many markets. A glut of inventory has impacted occupancy levels and daily rates. One successful strategy to overcome competition is to operate larger properties with more rooms and greater amenities. There are far fewer of these properties and therefore less competition. Guests also tend to be higher end and less impacted by economic downturns. Larger proper...

After several years of headwinds, including unprecedented levels of new supply, multifamily may be finally bottoming out. Supply is getting absorbed and new deliveries are declining. As new household formation continues to emerge, and home prices remain out of reach for most new home buyers, rental demand and rents will continue to increase. The long-term outlet is promising. As a result, multifamily accounts for 50% of large insti...

In today’s environment, multifamily valuations on stabilized properties are still too high to generate enough cash flow for many investors. By contrast, ground up development economics make more sense. California still has a major shortage of housing for middle wage earners, so the state encourages Build-to-Rent developments of affordable properties. Jared Jones, Co-founder of Middle Housing Partners, has a Private Equity fun...

Although many sunbelt markets have been excessively challenged for multifamily, not all have been equally impacted. Houston, for example, has continued to see major job and population growth. Companies like Nvidia, Apple, and Foxconn have made large AI-related investments in Houston. Houston has one of the country’s major ports and Is the fourth largest city in the country. It is predicted to surpass Chicago as the third larg...

With the right asset classes and the right operators, Real Estate is a slow and steady investment vehicle, but can still entail risk. Over the past 3-5 years, many passive investors have lost money. The best way to mitigate this risk is to invest with experienced fund operators who vet the operators and the opportunities withing the fund for you. Great investors like Warren Buffet, Charles Munger, Howard Marks and others, invest in...

The cost of land, borrowing, and construction has made it prohibitive to build new neighborhood retail centers in Florida. As a result, occupancy at existing properties in many markets is in the mid-high 90’s and sometimes even 100%. There’s a huge demand for space from restaurants, yoga and Pilates studios, gyms, massage clinics, plus other medical providers like dentists, chiropractors and joint clinics.There are also...

With so much volatility and uncertainty in the world, it’s getting increasingly risky to invest in equity opportunities with long, illiquid hold periods. It’s too hard to predict what will happen over time, and we’re long overdue for a major market correction. That’s why investing in shorter term, no or low leverage residential loans can be a great way to generate a high, risk adjusted yield in today’s...

Although multifamily has taken a big hit lately because of higher interest rates, higher expenses, and flat to declining rents, good deals are still hard to find. Sellers still want too much for their properties. Gino Barbaro, co-founder of Jake and Gino LLC, owns 1900 multifamily units in Knoxville, TN. Gino likes 2BR, 1.5 bath townhomes. Townhomes command more rent than apartments because they’re two stories with in-unit wa...

As light bay industrial continues to thrive, and other asset classes struggle, institutional money is chasing these deals. There’s still a shortage of supply, and new construction costs are prohibitive. Private equity, family offices, life insurance companies, and others are partnering with operators to generate yield. There is compelling value in secondary, under the radar markets. Many of these properties are owned by ma-an...

In multifamily real estate, each property has unique aspects, no two properties are exactly alike. This lends itself to market inefficiency and opportunity.  That’s why it’s possible to achieve alpha returns in any environment if you look hard enough. Bo Diamond, Co-founder of Caisson Capital Partners, identifies properties with value-add opportunities that make it possible to achieve outsize returns for his invest...

As the federal government continues to print more money, the value of the dollar decreases. Other countries are already beginning to trade in alternative currencies to the dollar. With economic uncertainty, including inflation and other types of market instability, risk mitigation is key. That’s why hard assets with a component of scarcity in a portfolio make sense for capital preservation. One of the better examples is preci...

As market rate apartments have become cost prohibitive to acquire over the past several years as a result of higher interest rates and expenses, ground up construction has become a more economically feasible option, especially with various federal, state, and local government tax credit programs. Lee Harris, President and CEO of Cohen Esrey, specializes in the development of 100-300 unit subsidized multifamily properties in the Mid...

It’s the best time to buy Multifamily properties since the Global Financial Crises, especially value-add properties. Prices have come down dramatically over the past few years, yet the fundamentals for rental housing remain strong as the demand drivers persist. Additionally, as new supply continues to gets absorbed, there will be a major shortage of rental inventory in 2027 and 2028. Hans Box, co-founder of Box Wilson Equity,...

Multifamily has seen some of its largest headwinds in almost two decades. In many markets, new supply levels are at historic records, expenses such as insurance and taxes have skyrocketed, and other operating expenses have also escalated. All of these challenges, plus impending loan maturities and less liquidity, are making this an opportune time to buy. Ivan Barratt, Founder and CEO of the BAM companies, is acquiring newly built p...

Finding great deals in this market can require investigating different geographies and possibly different asset classes. Although most Real Estate has encountered major challenges and headwinds, prices are still too high and generate insufficient cash flow. Robert Nelson, Managing Member of Permian Flex Capital, 1031 exchanged one of successful Self-Storage facilities in Northeast Pennsylvania into a small industrial building in Mi...