Connect Midwest Multifamily Trends 2026: Navigating Capital Flow & Deal Dynamics

The multifamily sector is seeing investment competition return, as sellers adjust pricing expectations and buyers show steadier interest.

Our expert panel on navigating capital flow and deal dynamics at Connect Midwest Multifamily Trends 2026 discussed strategies for securing financing and managing loan maturities. Industry leaders shared their acquisition strategies for underwriting deals, identifying distress and acquiring assets.

“There have been a lot of changes in the agency space, and the small balance program has really started to shrink with a bigger focus across the board for larger assets,” said Igor Zhizhin, Director at Lument. “Large deals are getting incredibly competitive capital.”

The panel covered various approaches to challenges in the multifamily market. “One of the things that we’ve tried to do to try to solve some of these issues is to go up pretty high up on the leverage level, up to 85 or 90% of loan to cost, if we have a quick value creation component and we can get paid back relatively quickly,” said Stratos Athanassiades, Regional Manager, for Red Oak Capital Holdings. “So if the business plan works, we can provide some of that equity at rates that are a lot lower than they’d be paying.”

On the topic of PACE solidifying its place as a mainstream financing solution, Nuveen Green Capital’s Senior Director, Originations, Chris Ellis, noted, “We’ve seen lots of momentum in the Midwest by taking bank participation risk off the table, where a deal pencils to 68% LTC and the bank only wants to have 35% or 40% on their balance sheet.”

“We love multifamily, we want to do deals, and the Midwest is great, and it’s been slow and steady in Chicago, better than anybody could expect, said Art Rendak, President at Inland Mortgage Capital. “Even at normalized 3%, I think everybody’s happy with the fundamentals.”