Sharon Karaffa is the President of Multifamily Debt and Structured Finance at Newmark. With over two decades of experience, she's built her career advising on agency lending, capital markets strategy, and multifamily finance. From starting in corporate finance at Fannie Mae to shaping lending strategies during volatile market cycles, Sharon brings a rare lens on long-term trends and real-time insights. She has led teams through critical transitions, including Fannie Mae's restatement period and the public launch of Newmark's multifamily platform, giving her a comprehensive view from both the borrower and lender perspective.

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Key Takeaways

• How Sharon transitioned into multifamily lending during a corporate finance shake-up at Fannie Mae

• Why mentorship and sponsorship play a crucial role in long-term success

• The ongoing conservatorship of Fannie and Freddie—and what it means for agency lending

• How current interest rate volatility is reshaping investor and lender behavior

• The role of AI in the future of multifamily debt underwriting

Topics Covered

Falling Into Multifamily by Taking a Chance

• Sharon shares how she unexpectedly landed in multifamily finance after being offered three career tracks at Fannie Mae—and choosing the one she knew the least about.

Navigating the Conservatorship Era

• A look at how Fannie and Freddie's placement under conservatorship in 2008 changed the structure of agency lending, from Treasury sweeps to regulatory capital planning.

How Volatility Affects Lending Decisions

• Sharon explains how rate volatility has impacted investor confidence and what lenders consider when advising clients during market uncertainty.

Bridge Loans vs. Agency Debt

• Sharon breaks down where potential distress may appear in the market and why deals underwritten with aggressive bridge debt may be more vulnerable.

Lender Advice: Don't Wait for the 'Perfect Rate'

• Insight on why now may still be the right time to execute a deal—and how waiting on the sidelines may mean missing key opportunities.

Tech and AI in Multifamily Lending

• Sharon shares how Newmark is experimenting with a proprietary GPT tool for internal underwriting and predictive analytics—and where AI still needs work.

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Round of Insights

Failure that set Sharon up for success: Forgetting to deliver highly sensitive Monday-morning meeting materials to the CEO and executives during her early years in corporate finance. The incident pushed her to prioritize preparation and rethink broken processes.

Digital or mobile resource recommended: LinkedIn.

Book recommended most in the last year: Not Impossible by Mick Ebeling.

Daily habit that keeps her focused: Using her calendar religiously to manage both professional and personal obligations with clarity.

#1 insight for selecting the right loan: Partner with a trusted loan originator who understands your long-term strategy and can help tailor the right financing structure to meet those goals.

Next Steps

• Connect with Sharon Karaffa via Newmark or reach out to her via [email protected].

• Learn how agency lenders assess market risk and borrower fit

• Understand why building broker and lender relationships matters—especially in fast-changing markets

• Evaluate your own loan terms against your long-term investment goals

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