Capital Insider: Real Estate Investing with Ellie Perlman

We’re bringing back this episode while we work on new content, because the topic is still highly relevant.

Why do some passive real estate investments miss the mark? Ellie Perlman covers the four top reasons deals underperform: overpricing, unrealistic sponsor expectations, lack of sponsor commitment, and unexpected turns, plus the red flags that help you catch each one early and the steps passive investors can take to stay informed.

Topics covered: overpricing, cap rates, sponsor expectations, NOI projections, sponsor commitment, property management, passive investor due diligence

Deals are going under contract and then falling apart. Sellers want yesterday’s prices. Buyers need today’s math.In this episode, we unpack the multifamily market as of Q4 2026: why closings are failing, why certainty of closing now matters more than the highest offer, and why operations are improving even as valuations reset. We also look at what the next 9 to 12 months may bring and why patient investors may be best positioned.Learn More: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7516117863716401152/

We’re revisiting one of our earlier episodes while we work on new content, and the lessons here still apply for any passive investor weighing a deal with institutional money involved.

Is investing alongside institutions a safety net or a risk? Ellie covers the pros, including deep vetting and rigorous reporting, and the cons, including a preference for funds over single deals and the danger of a deal collapsing if one big check never arrives.

Topics covered: institutional investors, sponsor vetting, check sizes, reporting standards, execution risk, fund structures

We're revisiting one of our episodes on the multifamily refinancing wave while we work on new content, and the fundamentals here are still worth understanding.Roughly $2.7 trillion in multifamily assets are eligible for refinancing, with $1.2 trillion expected to refinance by the end of 2025. In this episode, we break down why that wave is happening, how the refinancing process actually works, and what it means for investors: more capital looking for a home, more selective lenders, and a market that increasingly favors experienced operators with strong track records.Topics covered: refinancing wave, loan maturities, lender selectivity, market concentration, sponsor due diligence

Prices are down 40 to 60% from peak. Construction starts are at their lowest point since 2011. And demand is still holding strong.

In this episode, Ellie Perlman explains why the convergence of price resets, declining supply, tightening debt markets, and rising costs is creating one of the best multifamily buying windows in years, and why focusing on basis, not rent growth, is the key to taking advantage of it.

Topics covered: price resets, construction starts, absorption rates, distressed debt, buying discipline, market timing

Sources:

• https://mmgrea.com/national-q3-2026-pipeline-report/

• https://www.multifamilydive.com/news/multifamily-starts-apartment-construction-august/830679/

• https://www.yardimatrix.com/forecasts-reviews/yardi-matrix-multifamily-supply-forecast-q3-2026/

• https://alndata.com/beyond-peak-supply/

• https://www.realcapanalytics.com/blog/the-2026-maturity-wall-a-quantitative-framework-for-identifying-distressed-acquisition-targets

  https://www.lev.com/blog/multifamily-cap-rates-2026

• https://www.realpage.com/analytics/market-concessions-july-2026/

• https://www.matthews.com/insights/atlanta-ga-multifamily-q2-2026

AI needs more than software. It needs data centers, chip fabs, electricity, land, and thousands of workers, and that's creating a real estate opportunity hiding in plain sight.

In this episode, we break down why semiconductor investment is accelerating in markets like Arizona, New York, and Indiana, why these tertiary markets are facing a housing shortage as companies import workers, and why buying in now, ahead of the population and job growth to come, could mean getting in at a discount.

Topics covered: AI infrastructure, semiconductor manufacturing, tertiary markets, rental demand, labor supply, Chips Act policy risk

Sophisticated investors don't just check the boxes. They dig into how much a sponsor actually has at risk, how fees stack up, and whether the waterfall model protects their capital.

In this episode, we walk through the real due diligence framework institutions and family offices use, covering alignment, fee structures, waterfall models, key person policies, side letters, and what a proven track record actually looks like beyond the marketing deck.

Topics covered: sponsor alignment, fee structures, waterfall models, clawback provisions, key person risk, LP due diligence

Sources & Further Reading
(Data pulled August 14, 2026)

Co-Investment & GP Commitment

• Carta 2026 GP-Commit Data (PE median: 2.55%)
• Verivend 2024-25 + Citrin Cooperman 2025 (172 respondents; 5% modal GP commit, 72% required)
• Bain/StepStone GP Outlook 2026 (33¢ median co-invest per $1, up to 110¢; ~25% fee-revenue reduction)

Fee Structures

• Fundamentals.law State of the Market Survey (84% acquisition fees, 27% disposition)
• Accredited Insight Fee-Stack Ranges
• PwC/NAREIM Real Estate Funds Benchmarking Survey 2026, Fees & Expenses (Jun 1)
• Private Funds CFO / Troutman Fees & Expenses Survey 2026 (132 managers)

Waterfall Models & Clawback Provisions

• Proskauer Under the Microscope 2026 (Jun 23): 64% American / 36% whole-fund NA, 85% European whole-fund, 8% pref in 89%, 20% carry in 77%, 78% no no-fault removal
• Proskauer PE Annual Review 2024 (clawback recovery under 15%; 68% interim testing)
• Paul Weiss 2024 (64% interim testing)
• Upwelling Capital (1 in 14 firms exposed)
• Phalippou (50-100bps deal-by-deal drag)

LP Standards & Reporting

• ILPA Principles 3.0, Model LPA, and LP Sentiment Survey 2025-26
• Katten, Key LP Investment Trends 2025 and Beyond (ILPA reporting template effective 2026)
• IQ-EQ Jan 2026 (ILPA leverage stats)

Side Letters

• Seward & Kissel Side Letter Study 2025-26 (56% MFN, 41% fees)

Capital Allocation Trends

• UBS Global Family Office Report 2026 (307 offices; 60% reallocating; RE allocation 11% to 8%)
• Altss 2026 (1,200 investors; 76%/72%)

Enforcement & Legal Cases

• SEC Litigation Releases 26483 (PASMAA, Feb 2026) and 26534 (Voyager Pacific, Apr 2026)
• RADD Complaint
• Bisnow / The Real Deal, Jan 2026 (GVA/Stalcup)

Not every deal goes as planned. In this episode, I walk through three real acquisition experiences that tested my ability to protect investor capital: a staff walkout that tanked occupancy overnight, a building that caught fire twice during due diligence, and a COVID era deal where I couldn't even inspect the units.

Each story ends differently, but all three come down to the same lesson: know when to fight for a deal, and know when to walk away.

Topics covered: due diligence, risk management, investor protection, acquisition red flags

Multifamily real estate is quietly going through its own GFC, and most investors haven't noticed.

In this episode, we unpack the three forces driving the current distress: loan maturities colliding with doubled interest rates, a supply overhang in markets like Phoenix, and operating costs that keep climbing. We also cover how family offices, institutions, and foreign capital are each reacting differently, and why buying distressed debt (not distressed operations) is the smarter play right now.

Topics covered: loan maturities, rate caps, supply overhang, basis vs. yield, distressed debt, market timing

The headlines say pessimism. The data says something else.

In this episode, we walk through the four-phase real estate cycle, Recovery, Expansion, Hyper Supply, and Recession, and explain why the multifamily market is quietly shifting into recovery in 2026.

We break down the leading indicators that matter most (construction starts, completions, absorption, and vacancy direction), why the national average hides more than it reveals, and why some of the best investment vintages are born in years that feel the worst.

Topics covered: real estate cycles, construction starts, absorption, vacancy trends, market timing, disciplined underwriting