For most of the past decade, multifamily was seen as a reasonably forgiving asset class. Pre-pandemic, year-over-year rent growth held steady at ~3% before surging to an unprecedented high of over 18% as demand soared in early 20221.
That era is over. And it matters more than most investors realize.
The Numbers Are Hard to Ignore
After national multifamily asking rents ended 2025 with 0% annual rent growth, the weakest year-end showing since the Global Financial Crisis, 2026 rent growth hasn’t shown strong signs of recovery2. Through April of this year, asking rents have gone up just 0.4%, about one-third of the average growth recorded during the same period between 2012-20193.
Yet many investment managers and operators have continued to underwrite deals as if we’re still in the same market environment that drove unprecedented rent growth in 20221.
Rent Growth Can No Longer Mask Poor Strategy
When rent growth is robust, it can mask a lot about how an investment manager is stewarding investor capital. Rising income can cover mispriced acquisitions, mask weak lease-up assumptions, and buffer for imperfect underwriting.
But when rent growth becomes flat or negative, none of that holds. When performance is no longer driven by market momentum, outcomes bifurcate sharply. What becomes front and center isn’t what you’re invested in, but who you’re investing with.
Strategy is Nothing Without Execution
The question isn’t whether investing in multifamily is a viable strategy: long-term fundamentals remain compelling, as detailed in the most recent DLP Quarterly Impact Report. The question is who is doing the work to generate returns?
The market is no longer in the driver seat. Today, it’s all about the investment manager.
- Their approach to disciplined underwriting
- The responsibility they feel as stewards of investor capital
- The operational rigor of the team developing, lending on, or operating the property
At DLP Capital, our platform spans lending, development, and operations—allowing for a more hands-on approach to value creation. We don’t just invest in deals, we finance them, build them, and operate them, backed by our vertically-integrated model that allows us to step in and step up at any stage.
Over our 20-year history, we’ve delivered consistent results and distributions for accredited investors, even in volatile markets4 and we believe we are well-positioned to continue doing so.
You can learn more about the historical performance of DLP Capital-sponsored funds, DLP’s outlook for the quarter ahead, and see what sets us apart from other investment managers in our most recent Quarterly Impact Report.