It’s true. Buyers are so anxious to get into multifamily that Marcus & Millichap national multihousing group senior director Al Silva (here, with wife Erin in Aspen, Colo, over Labor Day weekend) says deals are selling as quickly as he can get them to market. Al's seen the time it takes to complete the marketing process compress from five weeks to about three. (What's everyone doing with their free fortnight? Any good two-week yoga classes out there?) Buyers are eager to close as quickly as possible since it’s taking them longer to win a deal in the first place, he says.

Some examples of speedy deals: the 292-unit The Brentwood and the 332-unit Ridgmar Square (pictured), both in Fort Worth. Al says more than 20 tours were done for The Brentwood in three weeks with 12 offers. The winner was a Texas-based buyer who offered above the asking price with hard money up front. He also has a track record of similar acquisitions, Al says. Ridgmar Square (developed, in part, by The Smothers Brothers in the '60s) has a low leverage loan assumption involved, but that didn’t deter bidders because of its good location and potential upside. About six offers were made over four weeks and another Texas buyer was selected; the deal closed in 75 days.

2014 has been Al’s busiest year ever (even though it’s only September), he tells us. He expects to close on another 1,000 units by the end of October. He and Erin are heading to Hawaii and Mexico in the coming months to enjoy some time off.