Ashcroft Capital’s Chief Investment Office, Scott Lebenhart, wrote an article for Multifamily Insiders, shared on April 24, 2023, “Apartment Investment Sales Will Rebound in Time”

Read the full article at Multifamily Insiders.

Article Excerpt:

Looking ahead, it appears the slow pace of multifamily property sales will continue for a while. But at some point – and perhaps sooner rather than later – multifamily properties will once again become a favorite destination for investor dollars.

The Current Landscape
It’s no mystery why the pace of property sales is so slow. Rising interest rates and volatility in the debt markets – including the recent failures of several regional banks – have made transactions difficult. Slowing rent growth, the impact of a potential recession on renter demand and soaring property insurance costs are giving buyers pause, too. As a result, while there appears to be plenty of capital looking to invest in multifamily, a large gap generally still remains between sellers’ asking prices and what buyers are willing to pay.

In addition, not many distressed properties are available for acquisition right now as those owners still have term on their loans, which gives them the ability to wait a bit longer in hopes that the capital markets will improve and allow them to refinance their current loans with more favorable options than are available today. Investors are waiting for these properties to become truly distressed, and there is widespread belief that more will be on the market later in the year.

It’s quite possible that investment sales won’t pick up real momentum until next year. The Federal Reserve raised interest rates again in March, and according to the Associated Press, there is support among Fed officials for at least one more rate hike this year.

But as we gain more clarity about the interest rate outlook, which could happen later this year, sales activity will begin to rise, and you don’t have to squint hard to see the multifamily sector once again becoming a favored asset among investors.

Lebenhart, Scott. “Apartment Investment Sales Will Rebound in Time” Multifamily Insiders, 24 April 2023, https://www.multifamilyinsiders.com/multifamily-blogs/apartment-investment-sales-will-rebound-in-time

Ashcroft Capital’s Chief Investment Office, Scott Lebenhart, was recently quoted in a Multifamily Executive article shared on November 13, 2022, “Thriving Market: Is Charlotte the New Gem of Multifamily?”

Read the full article by Paul Willis at Multifamily Executive.

Article Excerpt:

Ashcroft Capital has not yet joined the Charlotte market. But the fully integrated multifamily investment firm, based in New York, certainly has its eyes on the city.

“We hope to plant the Ashcroft flag in Charlotte sooner than later as we have been exploring opportunities in the market for several years now,” says Scott Lebenhart, chief investment officer of Ashcroft Capital. “Charlotte’s population growth and relative affordability continually draw interest from investors. The attractive business climate, established infrastructure, and excellent quality of life has created the type of strong growth that we target in our investments.”

Lebenhart says it’s possible that when Ashcroft expands to the market, it could be more than just a small splash. The company spends a considerable amount of time studying the intricacies of a potential new market and creates economies of scale and efficiencies within the market. He points to the company’s presence in Atlanta, where Ashcroft purchased more than 3,400 units in the last year and a half.

Lebenhart says the presence of major companies within the Charlotte MSA has helped strengthen its fundamentals, specifically naming Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Microsoft, Nuveen, Honeywell, Truist and Coca-Cola as businesses that provide stability to the economy here. Employment, population, and income growth make Charlotte an extremely attractive market to invest in, he adds.

“As with most larger Sun Belt markets, Charlotte has seen a tremendous amount of investment activity,” Lebenhart says. “In the last 12 months, we have continued to see large institutions target investments in the Charlotte area. There have been $7.5 billion of apartment transactions over the past 12 months. Although we are seeing investment activity slow down—along with activity throughout the rest of the country—we are still seeing a lot of investor demand for product in the Charlotte MSA.”

Lebenhart says Ashcroft will be diligent to invest in areas of Charlotte where demand will be the strongest moving forward, aiming to avoid any submarkets where absorption rates are affected by the influx of incoming supply.

Willis, Paul. “Thriving Market: Is Charlotte the New Gem of Multifamily?” Multifamily Executive, 13 November 2022, https://www.multifamilyexecutive.com/business-finance/business-trends/thriving-market-is-charlotte-the-new-gem-of-multifamily_o

Industry experts are optimistic about the long-term strength of the Dallas-Fort Worth multifamily market, citing strong migration and economic trends.

In the first half of 2022, the metro added just under 150,000 jobs, the largest gain in the nation, according to Marcus & Millichap’s recent market report for the third quarter. Dallas-Fort Worth also ranked at the top for overall population growth in a metro area with the Census Bureau reporting 97,290 people added between July 2020 and July 2021.

That’s welcomed news for multifamily developers and owners in the market, with population growth outpacing inventory growth.

Read the full article by Christine Serlin at Multifamily Executive

The Atlanta rental market is expected to remain strong due to a healthy economy, a lower cost of living, good demographic trends, and positive rent growth, according to a midyear multifamily report for the metro from Berkadia.

Multifamily starts have increased since the beginning of the pandemic due to recent strong demand. More than 26,000 units have been added since the beginning of 2020, with delivery of 4,500 units in the first half of this year. In all, 11,752 units are expected to be delivered in 2022, with another 20,385 deliveries projected for 2023. According to Berkadia, leasing activity hasn’t kept pace with the deliveries in the first half of the year, with the market seeing a drop in occupancy. However, the current occupancy rate of 95.7% is higher than the pre-pandemic average of 94.5% in 2019’s fourth quarter.

Read the full article by Christine Serlin at Multifamily Executive.

Ashcroft Capital Founder and CEO Frank Roessler was a guest on The Multifamily Review podcast. Over the course of the more than 20 minute interview, Frank discusses his career in real estate and the launch of Ashcroft.

To listen to the full episode, you can access it on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify and Google Podcasts.

A Multi-Housing News article examining today’s in-demand apartment amenities features comments and perspective from Ashcroft Capital CEO Frank Roessler.

“It really comes down to convenience and flexibility,” Roessler told the magazine. “Home isn’t just a place to lay your head down at night anymore. Residents are even more focused on comfort, space and amenity packages.”

He added that residents are placing a higher priority on playgrounds and green spaces in the work-from-home era.

“These spaces offer an additional place for kids to expend energy while their parents work remotely,” he said.

Visit Multi-Housing News to read the entire article.