Matt Joblon thinks now is the time to strike deals for apartments.
“There’s an incredible buying opportunity right now in cities that are growing,” he said.
The CEO of Denver-based BMC Investments recently closed a $150 million fund — its first fund ever — that he is using to buy apartments in seven key markets.
Those markets are Denver, Salt Lake City, Phoenix, Austin, Charlotte/Raleigh/Durham in North Carolina, Jacksonville and southern Florida.
“Most of these key cities are underhoused, and there’s a massive drop of supply coming,” Joblon said.
BMC is best known for its developments in Denver’s Cherry Creek neighborhood, which have included hotels, office buildings and apartments. But the firm has always had a large multifamily wing, which has historically been Colorado-centric. It had about 6,000 units prior to launching the fund.
Joblon is no stranger to raising cash but historically has solicited money for individual deals.
“It just wasn’t scaling at a certain point,” he said, adding that the fund framework also makes it easier to secure loans and helps attract talent.
The fund is focused on value-add and distressed acquisitions of workforce and attainable housing, or the lower end of the market. Some landlords have found themselves in tough positions with loans coming due amid high interest rates, resulting in opportunities to buy at a discount compared to replacement cost and recent sales.
BMC has spent about a third of the fund.
In February, the company entered Florida with the purchase of a 312-unit, 95%-occupied apartment complex in Jacksonville built in 2008. The company plans to update a quarter of the complex’s units.
In August, BMC entered North Carolina, buying a 339-unit complex in Raleigh.
“I hope to deploy most of it over the next 18 months, which I think is the buying opportunity,” Joblon said.
BMC continues to develop in Cherry Creek. It’s currently building an apartment building at 299 Milwaukee St., as well as the mixed-use Cherry Lane project that involved demolishing former Sears and Crate & Barrel stores.
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