As the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, inflation concerns, and the war in Ukraine illustrate, it can be difficult to decide where and how to invest money in volatile environments. As we like to say, we don’t have a crystal ball to predict the future; instead, we focus on the bigger picture to help us identify opportunities. We believe that the multi-family sector – long a bedrock of our real estate investment strategies – deserves investors’ attention in 2022.

In our previous blog, we covered the phenomenon of how a macro real estate bull market erupted from the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, as we (hopefully) begin to come out the other side, the question becomes: how should an investor approach this environment?

Across the board, real estate prices have been increasing, and multi-family assets are no exception. These higher prices have investors looking at low purchase cap rates. Certainly, these factors need to be considered; however, we also believe they should be put into context with what may be on the horizon for multi-family assets.   

The fallout from a Black Swan event, like the COVID-19 pandemic, can manifest itself in counter-intuitive ways. The economic devastation seen throughout the world in 2020 is undeniable; yet, amidst the havoc, we also witnessed one of the biggest booms in housing prices in U.S. history. According to the Case-Shiller National Home Price Index, which tracks price changes of single-family homes, housing prices rose 9.5% from November 2019 to November 2020. How does this happen while we’re simultaneously dealing with the worst pandemic in 100 years?

Recently, the White House released the details of President Biden’s proposed $1.8 trillion American Families Plan. The President’s proposal outlines several tax increases intended to help finance parts of this monumental spending—including changes to 1031 exchanges that, if passed, will severely limit the ability of everyday Americans to complete an exchange.

$1.5 Trillion¹. That’s the amount of outstanding student debt being carried today in the U.S., and most of that burden rests on the shoulders of millennials. The impact this financial obligation has on their housing choices, including their ability to move from renter to homeowner, can’t be overstated.

The Delaware Statutory Trust, or DST, is a popular investment choice for real estate investors interested in deferring capital gains taxes on appreciated property by using a 1031 exchange. We created the eBook — Bringing Clarity to Your 1031 Exchange — to help potential investors better understand the benefits and risks associated with DSTs.

Millennials make up the largest segment of renters and it isn’t just because they are the largest generation alive. It’s also because they are renting longer. There is no doubt that millennials are greatly impacting the current housing market. According to Zillow, the median age of today’s renter is 32 and the average income is less than $50,000. With high debt from student loans, it has become even more difficult for this generation to save for a down payment on their own home.

Tenants in Common (TIC) and Delaware Statutory Trusts (DSTs) are both viable structures to implement multi-owner real estate offerings when completing a 1031 exchange. However, there are several key distinguishing characteristics.

15 years ago I made the decision to step into the world of business ownership, opening the doors to Kuhn Financial (now Kuhn Wealth Management). We built our success on our commitment to providing personalized service and unbiased advice to help our clients plan for their goals.