As we settle into the fourth quarter, two major factors are shaping the U.S. multifamily market. 

First is a slowdown in construction starts, which means there could be fewer available units in the near future. The second factor is the five-year debt cost, which sits roughly at the same level as its 2023 peak.

But that doesn’t mean the money has disappeared. Recent major transactions, including Apollo Global Management’s plans to acquire a two-thirds stake in a more than 7,000-unit apartment portfolio from REIT UDR, suggest that capital is not gone — it has just gotten pickier. 

What does this mean moving forward? To answer that question, Bisnow Editor-In-Chief Mark Bonner sat down with Cortland founder and CEO Steven DeFrancis. Atlanta-based Cortland has one of the largest apartment portfolios, primarily built in the Sun Belt, but it recently bought $1.6B of a mostly Washington, D.C.- based portfolio. 

Francis said Cortland already had a presence in the D.C. area, and it was drawn to the asset mix of this particular portfolio, which is made up of mostly mid-rise and high-rise assets. Elme Communities, which previously owned the properties, was unable to take advantage of some of the upgrade opportunities that these assets have, thanks in part to their location. That's when Cortland stepped in. 

“D.C. is always going to be an engine for growth,” Francis said. “Every time you have an election, every time you have a change of administration, there's always a new wave of folks who come in, and more and more industries are locating in the D.C. market to be close to government.” 

Watch the video below to learn more.