The Power of the Word “No”

The most important word in commercial real estate is “no.” The best apartment investors will tell you they look at dozens of “bad” deals before they find a deal that could work. From shrinking markets to an unreasonable asking price, our most successful partners have become experts at finding a reason to say “no.” Being selective is a good thing. It is a key to your success.

The demographic data for multifamily investing continues to look strong. The two most populous cohorts in the U.S. are also the most likely to be renters. The Echo Boom generation has a long tail. This trend should continue for the next 20 years.

As active multifamily investors, we don’t have pre-determined rooting interests for any one region of the country. We go where we think the best conditions for investing will be. This analysis offers hope for a part of the country that has seen its share of struggles. We hope it’s true. But we are going to let the data show us before we act.

Digging under headlines is another trait of successful multifamily investors. At first blush, it looks like a housing boom is almost upon us. But a deeper look at the data illustrates many of the new housing starts are multifamily structures. I wonder why?