Scott Lawlor Makes 'A Structural Bet'

Waypoint doesn’t underwrite to big spikes in rental growth, Lawlor says.

STAMFORD, CT—Known for his acumen in buying office properties as founder of Broadway Partners, which acquired 28 million square feet in the sector between 2000 and 2007, Scott Lawlor today is a firm believer in multifamily. He founded real estate investment manager Waypoint Residential in 2011, initially with a focus on value-add; to date the firm has completed more than 60 transactions with a gross asset value in excess of $1.8 billion. The current year will likely see more than 15 deals completed, making 2016 the busiest yet for Waypoint. GlobeSt.com recently sat down with Lawlor to reflect on the past five years and where he sees the market going.

GlobeSt.com: You began investing in apartments through Waypoint Residential in the market of 2011. What are some of the major differences since then, and what hasn’t changed?

Scott Lawlor: The major difference by far is a general concern about where we are in the cycle. On 2010 and ’11, we were still crawling out from under, and the question was, “Is it okay to go out and invest again?” Now it’s almost at the other end of the spectrum, where the question I get most often from my investors is what I call the dreaded inning question: “Is it the seventh, the eighth, the ninth? Is it too late, did I miss the cycle? Should I wait it out on the sidelines?”