"We still have a credit crunch, effectively due to subprime, but I believe for the long term that people are still investing in real estate and multifamily has an attractive profile," stresses Jason Mattox, executive vice president of the Dallas-based Behringer Harvard. He tells GlobeSt.com that the long list of well-known developers will set the hook for investor interest, citing an IPO launch with 10 projects as signing incentives and only one that has reached completion. "It's quite a list and we have relationships with many more than that," he says.

The fund drive is a standard two-year offering, with liquidation scheduled for four to six years after it closes. The REIT's team is sizing up a plethora of investments, but its SEC filing reflects an affinity for transit-oriented and live-work developments in the 50 largest metropolitan areas in the US.

"One thing that's very clear, with the way commuting is poised to change, a focus on locations in high-traffic corridors with mass transit will build that lifestyle," Mattox says. "There is a reason to believe that's the focus of where this is going." The spotlight also is pointed at high barrier-to-entry markets in Sunbelt states due to favorable demographical shifts that are in play, thanks to relocating Baby Boomers.