Before the pandemic struck, the multifamily market suffered from a severe supply-demand imbalance that fueled an affordability crisis both nationally and in states like California. Nothing has changed. The supply-demand imbalance remains, and the pandemic has only exacerbated the problem. As a result, multifamily remains an attractive investment bet.

"Multifamily has long been a favored asset class, in large part because of an extreme supply/demand imbalance. The home ownership rate plummeted—from about 69% to 64%—since the Great Financial Crisis causing millions of American homeowners to rent," Mitch Siegler, senior managing director and co-founder of Pathfinder Partners, tells GlobeSt.com. "The Millennial generation, now larger than the Baby Boomers, enjoys mobility and prefers renting to buying. Many in this cohort have high student debt, pressuring their ability to assemble a down payment. These supply-demand dynamics remain in place and, to some extent, have been exacerbated by the pandemic."

Pathfinder is based in San Diego, and has continued to be a net buyer through the pandemic. "We've made several acquisitions this year," says Siegler. "As I mentioned in the previous question we focus on resilient markets characterized by many jobs in resilient industries and fewer jobs in vulnerable industries."