Industry Influencers: Berkadia Acquires Affordable Housing Firm, Drives CRE Conversations with Timely Data

September 30, 2020

The transformation of raw data into actionable insights takes the right tools, experience, and a bit of creative problem solving.

One way that Berkadia has been able to keep clients ahead of the curve during this unprecedented period is through a proprietary tool that models each metro’s ability to withstand the economic pressure caused by the pandemic. Senior Director Chris Bruzas recently spoke to Berkadia’s competency in these areas while talking to REBusinessOnline.

“The tool provides a resiliency score, which factors in employment statistics, resident personal finance, and other layered data, including occupancy and summaries of high-risk job industries,” said Bruzas.

This is just one example of how Berkadia is using industry-leading research to make a palpable impact on the latest narratives being traded around commercial real estate circles. This month’s Industry Insiders covers the company’s recent acquisition of a successful affordable housing firm and multiple examples of how Berkadia’s timely, informative research is impacting the multifamily industry.

Financial Times Announces Berkadia Acquisition of Affordable Housing Firm

Among early company announcements shared by the Financial Times in September was Berkadia’s acquisition of LIHTC Advisors. Berkadia will bring in the highly successful team led by Jeff Irish and Brandon Grisham to operate under David Leopold, senior vice president and head of Berkadia Affordable.

“This is a huge step forward in Berkadia’s goal of expanding our affordable housing team, another investment in this critical space,” said Berkadia CEO Justin Wheeler. “Jeff, Brandon, and their team bring a long and successful record of providing excellent advisory and client service—what Berkadia is known for in this asset class and in our industry.”

Prior to joining the Berkadia team, Irish and Grisham were responsible for the sale of a combined $2 billion in affordable housing assets nationwide. The team will help to further enhance Berkadia’s ability to deliver the highest level of comprehensive capital and advisor services to our affordable housing clients.

Berkadia Research Shines in September

Berkadia Research aims to provide our clients and industry partners with a constant source of optimal data and actionable insights. Over the past month, several major publications leveraged our team’s data and reporting to make sense of a tumultuous industry still dealing with the long-term impact of COVID-19.

  • The Motley Fool Millionacres blog highlighted Senior Director of Research Jonathan Rappa’s recent post that focused on investment sales activity and rent payments.
  • The St. Louis Business Journal referenced Berkadia’s analysis of metro-level rent trends in an editorial focused on the rise of “micro-units” in the city’s iconic Central West End district.
  • Berkadia’s 2020 Mid-Year Powerhouse Poll continues to be used as a standard for gauging industry sentiment regarding the impacts of the upcoming presidential election; Globe St. referenced the report as recently as September 15.

Learn more about how Berkadia is utilizing dynamic technology to offer clear guidance to our clients during the most volatile seasons. Reach out to one of our trusted investment sales or mortgage banking advisors in your area or check out one of our latest research reports for metro-level analysis of the biggest apartment markets nationwide.

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