TAMPA, FL—In today's unsettled multifamily market, deal flow isn't being driven by broad pricing resets or waves of distress—it's coming from more personal and situational pressures that are forcing owners to sell.
That was a central takeaway from the opening fireside chat, "Portfolio: Scaling Success in Multifamily Ownership," at the GlobeSt. Multifamily Owners Summit, where panelists said the most actionable opportunities are increasingly tied to what they described as "special situations"—from fund expirations to ownership changes and other one-off events.
Moderated by John Sebree, senior managing director and head of real estate investment sales at Lument, the discussion focused on how experienced owners are sourcing deals and scaling portfolios in a market defined by volatility, uneven fundamentals and limited forced selling.
Joe Lubeck, CEO of American Landmark, said his firm's acquisition strategy continues to center on Sun Belt markets where it has deep operating experience, but what's changed is where deals are coming from.
"We buy where we know," Lubeck said, pointing to the company's presence across 18 cities where it has had "boots on the ground" for more than 30 years.
Today, however, many of those buying opportunities are tied less to market-wide dislocation and more to individual seller circumstances. American Landmark currently has about 10 deals in its pipeline, many of which were sourced through those dynamics.
"We're really looking for special circumstances," he said. "Whether it's the end of a fund, a divorce, or another situation creating a need to sell, those are the opportunities we've been able to find."
That shift reflects a broader reality in the market: while capital markets remain choppy and pricing discovery is ongoing, widespread distress has yet to materialize. Instead, transactions are happening deal by deal, often driven by timing mismatches or ownership-specific pressures.
Even so, Lubeck said long-term confidence in multifamily fundamentals—particularly in the Sun Belt—remains intact, with performance still hinging on execution.
"The secret continues to be operations," he said. "We make our money when we sell, but we seriously plan out what we're going to make when we buy."
Skip Schwartz, chief investment officer at Grubb Properties, described the backdrop in simpler terms.
"The one constant we're living with right now is change," Schwartz said.
In that environment, he said, identifying opportunities requires a disciplined focus on local fundamentals and a willingness to wait for the right basis—particularly as many deals require time to realize their full value.
"With the right amount of patience and operational perspective, there is good value to be found today," he said.
Susan Folckemer, chief investment officer at The Preiss Company, said similar dynamics are playing out in student housing, where deal flow is often even more closely tied to relationships and ownership timing.
"We try to understand the impact from multifamily in that market as well and have a full picture," she said.
Her firm targets university markets where disconnects between supply, demand and local economic conditions create opportunity, particularly in areas with aging inventory or improving employment trends. But as in traditional multifamily, execution remains critical.
"We are an operationally driven business," she said. "We go in and look at inefficiencies and find those opportunities to grow operational efficiencies."
In student housing, those opportunities are frequently sourced before they ever reach the open market.
"The keyword in our market is 'off market,'" Folckemer said.
Because the sector is relatively small and relationship-driven, understanding where an owner sits in their investment lifecycle can provide early access to deals—often tied to the same "special situations" seen in the broader multifamily market.
Across property types, panelists pointed to a common theme: in an uncertain cycle, acquisitions are less about chasing market timing and more about identifying the specific moments when sellers are compelled to transact—and having the operational expertise to capitalize on those opportunities.
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