Selective capital and an uneven recovery in multifamily fundamentals are still shaping the development landscape, but Hillpointe is leaning into that environment rather than pulling back. For Jamie Telchin, managing director of multifamily development at the firm, the path forward runs through a narrow band of opportunities: growing Sunbelt and secondary markets where job gains are steady, migration persists and attainable product remains in short supply.
Demand for attainable housing follows job growth. When a market adds a hospital, manufacturer, or major employer, it creates an immediate need for housing for the local workforce. That dynamic has become the core of Hillpointe's strategy. The firm focuses heavily on Sunbelt and secondary markets where population growth is strong but attainable housing supply is still limited, according to Telchin. The thesis is straightforward: if the jobs arrive first, well-positioned, right-priced units should be able to weather rate volatility and lingering pockets of oversupply.
Scale that plays in selective markets
Hillpointe has grown into a sizable platform built around that theme. It manages more than $1.7 billion in equity capital and has been involved in the development, construction and management of over 18,000 apartment homes with a capitalization of more than $3.2 billion. It currently owns and operates 38 communities totaling 10,231 homes, ranking No. 4 and No. 6 on the National Multifamily Housing Council's 2025 Top 25 Largest Developers and Top 25 Largest Builders lists, respectively.
That level of activity puts the firm squarely in the middle of a capital stack reset that is still playing out across the sector. "For most developers today, the biggest challenge remains capital markets and investor sentiment, even as the oversupply from the COVID cycle continues to get absorbed," Telchin told GlobeSt.com. "For Hillpointe specifically, the challenge is identifying land sites that fit our underwriting criteria while still allowing us to deliver attainable housing at scale."
He said that capital markets have improved, but financing remains selective. "Debt is available for strong sponsors and projects with strong fundamentals, while LP equity for new development is still somewhat limited across the industry," according to Telchin. In practice, that means the bar for new starts is higher, but well-capitalized sponsors with a defined product and clear demand drivers can still move projects forward.
Finding sites that pencil for attainable product
In that environment, site selection becomes the hinge between thesis and execution. Telchin said Hillpointe has a unique approach to sourcing development opportunities. "We take a very relationship-driven approach to sourcing opportunities," he said. "Our regional acquisitions teams are based in the markets we operate in, and we combine those local relationships with internal tools that allow us to evaluate and underwrite potential sites quickly."
Locally based teams can sift quickly through the volume of potential deals in high-growth corridors and screen for the few that can support attainable rents while meeting return thresholds. The emphasis on relationships is designed to bring those teams into conversations early, before widely marketed processes drive up land pricing or attract competing bids. Internal tools then support that effort by standardizing underwriting and allowing the firm to move fast when a site aligns with its criteria.
The goal is to narrow the pipeline to locations where job growth, migration and existing stock point to durable demand from the workforce segment, without forcing the underwriting to rely on outsized rent growth. In a capital markets backdrop that still favors selectivity, the firm is betting that this combination of local sourcing and disciplined criteria will keep its deals in the "financeable" column.
Staying bullish on the Sunbelt
Despite the hangover from the last construction cycle in some metros, Telchin believes sentiment around multifamily is improving as recent supply continues to be absorbed. "We remain very bullish on the Sunbelt, where migration and job growth continue to drive long-term demand for attainable housing," he said.
That outlook ties back to the opening premise. If employment and in-migration continue to support household formation in select Sunbelt and secondary markets, developers that can deliver attainable product at scale may be positioned to use today's selective capital environment to their advantage. For Hillpointe, the combination of an attainable housing focus, a relationship-driven sourcing model and a balance sheet that qualifies it as a strong sponsor is the formula it is using to stay active while much of the market waits for clearer signals.
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