LOS ANGELES—For Jonathan Moore, senior vice president of multifamily at Brookfield Property Group, it is the things that you don't see that are worrisome because “it is always something… It is hard to figure out what that is, but something bad probably will occur.”
Moore was addressing a room of nearly 2000 attendees last week at RealShare Apartments at the Westin Bonaventure in Downtown L.A. “The cycle feels like it is in the second half,” Moore added.
While some speakers on the investment panel had concern over affordability of rents, others say affordability seems to be in check.
Multifamily is sitting with much greater tailwinds, noted Kevin Kaberna, senior managing director of investments at Greystar. Some other asset classes are staring down the barrel, he explained, noting that in office, for example, “there are smaller spaces, more people are working from home, retail dealing with ecommerce etc., so they are dealing with fundamental headwinds that we don't have to worry about.”
The hard thing that everyone is struggling with, according to Robert Hart, president and CEO of TruAmerica Multifamily, is that the memory of six years ago isn't far away.
In looking at urbanizational trends, and how investors should be looking at them, Maria Stamolis, co-head of real estate investments and director of asset management at Canyon Partners Real Estate LLC, says that her company has always been more urban focused and look at things like demographics, transit, affordability and all the things you need to provide underpinning of a good multifamily project.
“We look for areas that are affordable, safe and areas that young people want to live that has night life, retail components etc.,” added Kaberna, noting that it doesn't necessarily have to be urban core. “There is urban core happening in the suburbs too.”
Moore agreed, saying that is doesn't have to be Downtown Manhattan, for example, “it could be in Montclair, NJ. It has to be the lifestyle that people are craving.”
Urban is sexy and is what is happening, added Hart. “Urban is transportation centric, job centric and fits the Millennial crowd.”
Over 60 high-level speakers and nearly 2000 were in attendance at this year's RealShare Apartments event. The RealShare Conference Series is produced by ALM's Real Estate Media Group, which also publishes Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com.
Continue Reading for Free
Register and gain access to:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Natalie Dolce
Natalie Dolce, editor-in-chief of GlobeSt.com and GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum, is responsible for working with editorial staff, freelancers and senior management to help plan the overarching vision that encompasses GlobeSt.com, including short-term and long-term goals for the website, how content integrates through the company’s other product lines and the overall quality of content. Previously she served as national executive editor and editor of the West Coast region for GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Forum, and was responsible for coverage of news and information pertaining to that vital real estate region. Prior to moving out to the Southern California office, she was Northeast bureau chief, covering New York City for GlobeSt.com. Her background includes a stint at InStyle Magazine, and as managing editor with New York Press, an alternative weekly New York City paper. In her career, she has also covered a variety of beats for M magazine, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, FashionLedge.com, and Co-Ed magazine. Dolce has also freelanced for a number of publications, including MSNBC.com and Museums New York magazine.
