Weidner Apartment Homes' Greg Cerbana tells us there are still multifamily investment opportunities in the Puget Sound region, but they're somewhat limited because of competition from the enormous volume of development in the market and the entrance of major institutional investors. He says that Kirkland-based Weider's strategy over the last decade has been to acquire assets only when there's strong market-value opportunity, and strong cash flow upside.

It's a strategy that seems to have paid off: Recently Weidner landed at No. 27 on the NMHC Top 50 Apartment Owners list, the only Washington state company on the list. In recent years, Greg says, the company has been able take over challenged projects and ground-up development opportunities to increase its presence in both western WA (Woodinville, Bellevue, SeaTac) as well as eastern WA (Moses Lake, Wenatchee). Weidner also took the opportunity to acquire projects in growing markets such as Phoenix and Tucson, as well as SoCal and other places. Pictured: Lion's Gate Apartment Homes in Walla Walla.