release edition [020] read time [4 minutes] Welcome to The Multifamily Download, a weekly newsletter where I provide institutional insights to help you build an exceptional Multifamily career. Today at a Glance:
TouringIn 2025, Real Estate can be acquired from behind a desk, but what's possible isn't necessarily what's best. Here are 8 quick thoughts after spending an increased amount of time on the road in Q2 for both asset management and acquisition purposes. 1. Travel with Purpose. Life on the road can be an escape-ism or forcing function. Sure, it's easy in the moment to let emails pile up with an "Oh, I'll get to them later" mindset, but, the flip-side to that decision is never worth it. Traveling with purpose means making the most of each moment. 2. Plan an Itinerary. This may seem obvious, but creating a schedule almost always makes a trip more productive. For example, I took a day-trip to Salt Lake City this week and I was able to tour our three assets to discuss market rents, walk vacant units, and review recently completed or necessary CapEx projects, along with touring several rent comps. 3. Eyes Wide Open. A subtle and rare but added benefit of traveling to tour Real Estate is who you may see along the way. As I was departing to SLC, I ran into a buddy in the airport who happened to be on the same flight. Life gives us these little moments every once in a while, and amid life's busy schedule, I would urge you not to miss them. 4. Seeing Is Believing. The only way to truly get a feel for why a unit may be sitting vacant for longer than desired is by touring that specific unit. How does it smell? How's the lighting? Is it clean? How's the road noise? These seemingly small details add up to create an impression on a prospect. 5. Rents Must be Relevant. Markets are always changing, especially today with elevated deliveries, so both monitoring asking rents and leasing specials (concessions) are critical to having success in a challenging market environment. 6. Dogfight Leasing. In the beach scene in Top Gun Maverick, the team plays "Dogfight football", which Tom Cruise describes as playing offense and defense at the same time. Leasing units in a soft market should follow the same logic, as effective leasing requires both offense and defense at the same time. 7. Look at Leasing Windows. The tour path of a prospect is arguably the most important component of making a strong impression that converts to a leased unit. How is the walkway leading up to the leasing office? Is the landscaping orderly and appealing, or barren and unappealing? Do residents in that area use their balconies as outdoor storage units? Do the amenities show well? These variables all add up to create an impression in the prospect's mind. 8. Make Space for Face-to-Face. Meeting with on-site staff is the best way to evaluate their personable skills. How do they treat you as part of the ownership team? Are they confident and engaging, or shy and uncertain? Do they get up from their desk to greet you at the door? Do they seem enthusiastic? Everyone has their own style, but, there's a minimum requirement that must be met in order to be an effective leasing team member. If you can, get out in your markets to tour properties. Getting out from behind a desk and into the market will grow your market knowledge, show your equity partners that you're serious and committed to staying on top of real-time trends, and enhance relationships with property managers and brokers alike. I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes, which I think applies to this topic: "What's easy to do is also easy not to do". Moody'sIf you're tracking what's happening in the economy then you're likely already aware of this, but yesterday Moody's credit rating agency downgraded the United States' credit rating for the first time in history. Now, to state the obvious, the U.S. is on an unsustainable fiscal path, and that's no mystery to anyone. Here's what the data says:
The question that's worth asking, though, is why did Moody's issue this credit rating adjustment now? President Trump and team have just secured multi-trillions of investment commitments from Middle Eastern countries, and finally, an effort is being made to improve fiscal sustainability at the Federal level via DOGE. While I'm not going to make the argument that this move by Moody's is a politically motivated one, such an argument is being made by many and it would seem to have some validity on the surface. Regardless of the motivation, this is today's reality and now it's all about observing the response. To me, the far more interesting dynamic to watch will be the effects or impacts of this rating adjustment.
In less than 18 hours after the announcement, there has been a zero net-move of the U.S. 10-year Treasury after a 5 basis point increase on the news and then a 5 basis point rally back to 4.44%. While I don't have any forward-looking predictions per se, this is definitely something to keep an eye on. As rates go, so goes the economy and the CRE industry. Weekly ListenThis week's listen is another episode of the Walker Webcast, hosted by Willy Walker as he interviews guest Jay Parsons. In what is a combination of two of my personal favorite CRE podcasters, I knew this episode was obviously a must-listen. You can listen to the full episode here. Wrap UpThat's it for this week. I hope you found this edition of The Multifamily Download insightful and enjoyable. If so, would you consider sharing it with a friend or colleague? Simply send them this link. I always welcome your feedback. Reply and let me know what you'd like to see in the future. Thanks for reading. See you next week! Forwarded this email? Sign up here. Join me on LinkedIn | Twitter | Website |
The Multifamily Download · May 17, 2025
Property Tours, Moody's Rating, & More
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