Making hay whilst there’s daylight
One might gather that there’s a pivot back to private capital as 79,000 apartment units have left the hands of publicly traded REITs for the greener portfolios of private equity firms. Just a few...
Prescience: knowledge of things before they happen
A 2014 historical study suggests that not since the Civil War have we been so polarized as a nation. Climate change, immigration, Fair Housing law. The issues are many, and both the emotions, and...
The highlight of my career
Interviewing Donald Trump was a highlight of my publishing career. The Trump brand is one of the most luxurious in the world. His multifamily properties are legendary. In the AP interview, we focused on...
Fighting back
There was a sign posted on a wall of St. Thomas More school in Bel-Nor, Mo, entitled, “Lest we forget.” It was a short list—a reminder—of what “we” students believed and how these beliefs...
An inside job
Only by contact with evil could I have learned to feel by contrast the beauty of truth and love and goodness. —Helen Keller
There’s a lot of unhappiness out there. Certainly there are legitimate reasons...
The monsters are due on Maple Street
"The monsters are due on Maple Street," (1960) was a classic. I recall it every time I read divisive tales about some one or group, or ill-defined boogie man, who has singlehandedly turned out...
Don’t mess with the bull
That’s where numbers become important. Numbers drive our operations, set our projections and bear our cash flow, and right now the numbers are some of the best most of us have seen, and a...
The heart of a multifamily housing professional
And the winner is
I love that line. It’s that time of year when we recognize the best in class within our great industry. NAHB’s coveted Pillars of the Industry winners are in and, man,...
Did you feel that?
After a temblor we always check for the intensity and the epicenter. It’s a ritual that comes with living on a fault line. Perhaps a lot like living in today’s economy. And just as...
The tick tock of economics
My grandmother had a penny jar, while my father insisted we eliminate the one dollar bills and round up when playing Monopoly. The philosophical difference was not lost.
So why do policy makers seem to...
Things that matter: words
The former pro wrestler, Tyrus, who is partly of African-American descent, tells a story from his high school days of being annoyed by a boy who wore a shirt with an image of the...
You have more power than you know
I heard Bill Clinton at the National Apartment Association convention in Denver last month. He's certainly one of the most charming, well-spoken, articulate ex-presidents since, well, Ronald Reagan.
I was, however, distracted by the audience....
Be fearless.
NAA and NMHC are just around the corner. Deals are sprouting up everywhere and companies are changing, evolving and thriving in the world of apartments.
And within the hustle and bustle of this crazy wonderful...
Only dead fish swim with the current
It’s a glorious day in the rental business. I would say apartments, but the industry has been transitioning—again—to include single-family rentals (Demand drives pricing and Blackstone buys SFR portfolio).
Moving with the market is our...
Positivity
I felt completely overpowered by his dismay. We're both Catholic, so many of our discussions circled around our faith-in-common, but it felt as though he had already given up the ship. It seemed that...
