New York, New York – November 3, 2026 – Berkadia, a distinguished leader in the commercial real estate sector, partnered with the Chen Institute for Global Real Estate Finance at NYU Stern School of Business for the third annual Multifamily Investment Case Competition, held October 15-16. Graduate student teams from top universities nationwide were asked how they might drive investment returns in the apartment space through the use of technology.
“Berkadia was honored to partner with NYU Stern for the third year in a row, highlighting our commitment to supporting young professionals and future leaders in real estate,” said Justin Wheeler, Berkadia’s CEO. “Engaging with eager, thoughtful participants and judges with deep expertise in the multifamily industry was both exciting and inspiring. This event was made possible by the dedication of university teams, fellow judges, and NYU’s sustained support.”
This year’s competition featured teams from NYU Stern, Columbia Business School, UCLA Anderson, the University of Wisconsin–Madison, the University of Florida Warrington College of Business, and the University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business and an esteemed panel of judges and industry leaders, including Keith Harris, President of Avanath Investment and Development, Toby Bozzuto, President and CEO of The Bozzuto Group, Joanna Zabriskie, CEO of BH Management, Caleb Roope, President and CEO of The Pacific Companies, Marianne Ganster, Managing Director, Head of US Asset Management at Corebridge Financial, Jenna Barclay, Senior Vice President, Equity Asset Management at PCCP and Matt Bisgyer, Principal at Montauk Capital.
Teams developed and presented comprehensive investment strategies for a multifamily technology fund—an intersection of three areas that rarely converge in traditional business school curricula: multifamily operations, technology, and the financing of innovation.
By requiring teams to raise and structure a venture fund that invests in technology companies serving multifamily stakeholders, the case provided a unique, real-world learning experience.
NYU Stern School of Business won with a proposed $100 million multifamily technology fund designed to lower development and operating costs across Noldor Capital Partners’ 95,000-unit portfolio through procurement automation, resident-retention analytics, and predictive building systems. Using phased pilots and performance-based scaling, the strategy seeks to create recurring NOI growth while targeting a 15.4% net IRR and 2.32x net multiple for investors.
University of Florida Warrington secured second place, and UCLA Anderson took third place.