High investor demand for multi-family real estate will likely continue for three to five years, only after interest rates gradually increase and the construction of new apartments slows down, according to Sue Blumberg, senior vice president and managing director of the Chicago office of NorthMarq Capital. She told Midwest Real Estate News that investors consider multi-family the most desirable of commercial sectors. “For investors looking for financing, it is an absolute feeding frenzy,” she told the ... read more

Effective rent growth in the U.S. apartment market increased again in July, and occupancy rates remained steady, according to data from research firm Axiometrics Inc. In fact, annualized effective rent growth was 3.8 percent in July, marking a trend this year. “Effective rent growth has increased for five straight months, but is still a long way from the summer of 2011, when the rate was in the 5 percent range,” Stephanie McCleskey, Axiometrics vice president of research, said in a statement. “O... read more

There's never been a better time than now to invest in multifamily real estate. Interest rates are low, but more importantly, tenant demand for apartments in the St. Louis metro area keeps growing. Rents and occupancy rates are also on the rise, and they are expected to continue to increase, according to the 2104 Outlook from Freddie Mac Multifamily Research. According to Freddie Mac researchers, vacancy rates are still below their historic averages, and most markets should be able to absorb any new supply. In t... read more

Multifamily Demographics: Five Free Mapping Resources by John Wilhoit Jr. on July 30, 2013   It’s no small task to add a demographic component to your knowledge base about  a particular  property or portfolio. Getting  “granular” by creating layered demographic maps can be very expensive. The more detail requested the more expensive the mapping outputs. Broad mapping outputs are  generally free. County and city maps, for example, provided by the U.S. Census Burea... read more

On Aug. 16, Capital One announced it would acquire Beech Street Capital, a private originator and servicer of multifamily commercial real estate loans. With a successful history of acquisitions behind it, investors need to know if Capital One is poised to add to that count, or if this is another example of a bank overextending itself into a business it shouldn't be in. Beech Street makes loans for apartment buildings, condominiums, and other properties, then typically sells those debts through three large governme... read more