As for JVM specifically, our investors are primarily high net worth individuals. We raise equity from them directly and also through investment advisors looking to diversify the portfolios of their high net worth clients.

What are some of the factors that may affect investors' appetite for apartment communities over the next 12 months?

Madary: Well, rising interest rates could certainly play a role in dampening investors' interest in acquiring communities. However, some perspective is needed. Rates are still historically low, and the operating fundamentals of the apartment sector remain strong. Multifamily will continue to be an attractive investment opportunity for any number of reasons, but a steady, long-term rise in interest rates will surely impact buyer interest to some degree.

In the end, how do you think multifamily investment sales volume in 2018 will compare to that of recent years?

Madary: I think we'll see a fairly brisk pace of investment sales, maybe a bit higher than we saw in 2016 and 2017. I think that will be largely because, with interest rates beginning to increase, owners contemplating a disposition will be motivated to sell sooner rather than later.

What's your assessment of the current state of the Midwest apartment market – are you comfortable with the alignment of supply and demand?

Madary: I am. Looking across the markets in which we own and operate, supply and demand remains largely in balance. Certainly, we've seen an understandable uptick in new construction after the boom of the past several years. But I really do think developers and construction lenders learned some lessons from past cycles and fortunately stopped well short of any serious overbuilding in the region.

With job markets growing throughout the Midwest, demand has remained strong, and rents remain affordable for residents. Furthermore, we think new construction will taper down as interest rates rise and development costs make projects more cost prohibitive.

What are JVM's priorities and goals for 2018?

Madary: Since our founding in 1975, JVM has focused on the acquisition of apartment communities in secondary and tertiary Midwestern markets. That won't be changing. More specifically, though, we are planning to acquire $200 million in class A properties in our existing Midwestern markets this year, a process that we began at the end of January with our purchase of Apex on Quality Hill in downtown Kansas City.

When pursuing these acquisitions in the year ahead, we'll stay true to our conservative investment underwriting, and we certainly won't chase something out of our typical acquisition criteria simply because opportunities aren't arising at the pace we had originally anticipated. We make a point of not getting emotionally attached to any investment opportunity and therefore it's easy for us to not get swept up in a bidding war that takes us above our originally targeted acquisition price.