Connect Webinar Highlights “Energy and Enthusiasm” in Multifamily Industry 

A well-attended, high-energy live event is big news as the pandemic recedes, and Connect CRE’s National Multifamily Update webinar reported that news. At the National Multifamily Housing Council’s recent 2022 Annual Meeting in Orlando, “There was a great deal of energy and enthusiasm,” said NMHC prrsiedent and CEO Doug Bibby. “I think people felt very appreciative that we put this on.”  

Nearly 24 months into the pandemic, Bibby added, “people are just saying, ‘we’ve got to move on with our lives.’” The buzz of dealmaking at the convention reflected this mindset. 

David Brickman, CEO of NewPoint Real Estate Capital, agreed that the NMHC event stood out as “the biggest, most significant event I’ve been to in the COVID era. It signaled to folks that if you weren’t there, you were missing out, and if you were there, you felt very good about having attended.” 

Moderated by Daniel Ceniceros, founder, president and CEO of Connect, the 40-mnute conversation delved into the results of NMHC’s biennial Renter Preferences Survey. Bibby cited some of the key takeaways: 

• Working from home has transformed “just about everything,” including what the utilization of traditional office space will look like in the future;  

• There was “a surprising amount of interest” in a membership model leading to stays of a few months at a time in different cities;  

• Renters have become “much more comfortable with self-service technology,” included self-guided tours;  

• Last but not least, “digital and physical amenities are coming together,” leading to features such as package lockers and managed Wi-Fi. “Those are becoming as important as the pool and fitness center.” 

Those trends are having an impact at the development level, noted Ken Valach, CEO of Trammell Crow Residential and newly sworn-in NMHC chair. “If we were looking at a site, we might actually pay a little more because we know they’ve got fiber optic cable there,” said Valach.  

He noted, though, that supply chain issues may currently pose a challenge in providing some of the more digitally oriented amenities, such as chips for door locks. 

On the legislative front, Bibby said NMHC doesn’t see rent control appearing on the national agenda. In more local jurisdictions, though, the issue has come up. 

“It’s not the legislation I worry about; it’s the regulation,” said Bibby. 

Both Bibby and Brickman cited affordability as an ongoing concern, and in particular the impact that regulation is having on addressing that concern.  “The right answer to that is to build more housing, and to lift some of the regulations that constrain the ability to build housing,” Brickman said. 

It’s likely that we’ll see increases in the federal funds rate during 2022, said Brickman; the question is how high and what the impacts will be on cap rates and valuations. That being said, “you still have such strong capital flows into the U.S.” He added that it’s “remarkable” how many people are focused on deploying capital into multifamily, whether via debt or equity. 

Capital flows and the makeup of the capital stack also came up for discussion, along with the question of the gap between renter demand for multifamily and new supply. Click here for the complete discussion with further insights from Bibby, Brickman and Valach.