218: In This Environment Only the Strongest Will Survive

With cap rates having gone as low as they arguably can go, multifamily operators are going to have to add deep value to properties moving forward to meaningfully increase their asset value. They can no longer rely on cap rate compression to generate high IRRs and returns for their investors. At this point, only the strongest operators will generate the kind of profits we’ve seen over the past few years. Steven Gesis, COO at Smartland, started in Northeast Ohio rehabbing, modernizing, and standardizing old D – C+ apartments that blew their competition out of the water. Smartland innovated the approach to renovations in this class of properties including the installation of wireless packages, putting in EV charging stations, renovating pools & gyms, planting gardens, even opening on-property convenience stores, Subway sandwich shops, and more. They’ve recently expanded to Miami with the same formula but with higher upside because of the exploding rents in South Florida. As a result of Smartland’s approach, they’ve generated consistently outsized returns for their investors.