Grubb Properties Closes Largest Workforce Housing Fund to Date

Grubb Properties has closed its largest fund to date—the $75 million Grubb Real Estate Fund VII.

Grubb received commitments from both existing and new clients for the fund, which it expects to achieve or exceed the $400 million capital raising target. The commitments come from a range of institutional investors, family offices and qualified high-net-worth individual investors.

Grubb Real Estate Fund VII focuses on workforce multifamily opportunities primarily within its branded Link Apartments communities. 

Grubb targets its properties to residents earning between 60% to 140% of average median income. 

The pandemic has allowed Grubb to pursue opportunities in gateway markets, including Los Angeles, New York, and Denver, that were previously out of reach. It is also opening an office in San Jose, California, to better explore opportunities in the western US.

“Addressing the severe shortage of essential housing is not only a compelling investment opportunity, it’s also a moral imperative,” said Clay Grubb, CEO of Grubb Properties. “The response to Grubb Real Estate Fund VII proves that real estate investors see the potential of essential housing as a discrete investment class.”

Grubb is closing the fund amid a frenzied apartment market. Multifamily transaction volume topped $138 billion last year and hit $32 billion in the first quarter of 2021, making the asset class the most liquid among all commercial real estate property types.

A new report from JLL shows that closed-end fund closings targeting multi-housing assets have totaled $68.4 billion since 2016 and “will provide an ongoing source of liquidity,” especially as pricing discovery in the midst of COVID-19 resulted in more opportunities for private capital to invest in the space. That’s particularly true for high-net-worth individuals and institutional investors.  

As the world begins to open back up, there’s no shortage of interest in apartments, according to Steve Rosenberg, CEO of Greystone.

“We’re definitely seeing the economy opening up and the asset classes that we’ve participated in, particularly on the multifamily side, valued as high as ever,” Rosenberg told GlobeSt.com in an earlier interview. “Multifamily pricing has not come down at all. It has become even more of a global asset class than it was before.”

That popularity is attracting capital from all corners. “We’re seeing even more sources of capital coming in, and we’re having to compete harder and get even more aggressive and creative,” Rosenberg says. “The asset class itself is a hot asset class. We’re seeing a lot of capital chasing it.”