Don's Thoughts

The Housing Affordability Crisis and DLP’s Focus on Multifamily Rentals

Due to increased real estate prices, coupled with stagnant wage growth, America’s workforce is struggling to find housing that fits their needs and their budget. According to Barron’s, more than half of all U.S. households—or 63 million—are unable to afford a $250,000 home. And 10.7 million American households pay more than 50% of their income on rent.

If you’ve worked with us in any capacity, you’ll know that the majority of our projects focus on creating and supporting affordable rental housing by way of multifamily communities in the Sunbelt region of the United States. By investing in these communities, we are creating an impact on underserved areas in need of more affordable housing options, bolstering the local job markets, and providing families with quality housing with unbeatable amenities.

“The multifamily sector has been on a wild tear since the onset of the pandemic, with double-digit rent growth across both gateway cities and markets typically regarded as secondary or even tertiary,” stated Holly Amaya recently for GlobeSt., and I couldn’t agree more. DLP Capital works hard to partner with incredible firms around the country to bring forth more multifamily projects that align with specifically curated criteria and will bring benefits to not only residents of those communities but to our investor groups as well.

We’re all familiar with the typical “American Dream”—creating personal wealth, owning a home, and building a legacy for future generations. While wealth and legacy remain advantageous goals, owning a home is becoming less and less popular. Why? We’ve found that renting is the latest trend, with some age groups showing a 65% rate of rented households versus owned, according to Worth Insurance. Additionally, 64% of millennials, a group that has surpassed Baby Boomers as America’s largest generation, regret their purchase of a home.

As we’ve seen since the pandemic, flexibility is key for millions of Americans, and that doesn’t just mean being able to work from home. Renting a home allows for more fluidity with regards to where to call home, whether for six months or six years. Being tied to a home and a mortgage is becoming much less appealing. The flexibility of rentals allows for more opportunities for relocating to be closer to a job, moving to spend more time with grandchildren, or experiencing a new region on the rise. Couple these points with the increase in costs associated with homeownership, and  rental options become even more appealing.

If you’re interested in finding out about the communities DLP Capital builds—or acquires to make better—or to hear my expanded thoughts on the current market, I encourage you to to join me during one of our upcoming Capital Dinners or Capital Webinars. You can find more information on those events here:

Events

Driven for Greatness

Driven 4 Greatness (D4G) is a DLP firm-wide meeting we’ve conducted for over a decade, and it all started as a book club. I was reading a book called "The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership," by John Maxwell, and loved it so much that I invited teammates to read it with me. This led to biweekly meetings to review another book together, and another. To date, we’ve reviewed more than 150 books, some of which we’ve read multiple times. D4G has remained a voluntary group at DLP Capital and, as we’ve grown, meeting membership has expanded to more than 50% of our team members. With 200 people now in attendance, we have conversations that are more engaging and diverse in their opinions than ever. Two DLP members volunteer to lead us through separate presentations and discussions on the chosen book, with the group meeting a half-hour before the usual workday begins.

This month, we are reading “Fierce Conversations” by Susan Scott. Look out for my next edition of “Don’s Thoughts” to learn about my key takeaways from the book.