Realberry looks at 100 deals to close 2 or 3. That funnel discipline is at the core of Realberry’s multifamily strategy. It’s also how a $3.4 billion firm has stayed sharp through a housing recession most Colorado investors are still living through. Taylor Hazlett, Senior Director of Private Capital, joins Chris Lopez to walk through the firm’s process. Together, they cover how Realberry filters opportunities, underwrites in today’s market, and finds the rare deal worth chasing.
Chris hosts the Denver Real Estate Investing Podcast for Colorado investors who want more than surface-level takes. Before moving to the capital side, Taylor spent 7 years at Realberry. He started as a civil engineer at Clemson and later built a couple thousand lots at Century Communities. Today, his team has built close to 400 BTR units through a joint venture with American Housing Ventures out of Texas. He now also helps lead fundraising for the firm’s private capital efforts.
From the capital seat, he sees exactly how the firm’s deal discipline plays out. The conversation covers why Realberry walks away from bidding wars. It also covers how the team underwrites base, downside, and upside scenarios, and why discipline matters more in a soft market than in a strong one. The read on Colorado then starts with a hard truth for developers. Existing multifamily is trading at roughly 20 to 30% below what it would cost to build new. For example, a building you could buy for $300,000 per unit costs $400,000 per unit to build from scratch.
As a result, capital is walking away from ground-up projects and chasing acquisitions instead. Water tap fees running $30,000 to $50,000 per unit and impact fees adding another $15,000 per home in some municipalities are only widening the gap. The recent 60-unit Castle Rock townhome acquisition is a case in point. It’s a mark-to-market opportunity that fit the buy box precisely because building new did not pencil.
Taylor also points to early signs of recovery. Rent concessions on a Realberry-operated Broomfield townhome community dropped from 8 weeks free to 2 weeks in just 3 months. Meanwhile, insurance carriers are sharpening pencils, and construction costs have stayed flat for 3 to 4 years. Taken together, these signals suggest the market is starting to firm, even if rents have not caught up yet.
In This Episode We Cover:
- Inside Realberry’s multifamily deal funnel and the Monday investment committee
- Why Colorado has fewer than 40 active BTR deals while Texas has hundreds
- The $2.40 to $2.45 per square foot rent threshold for suburban multifamily to pencil
- Why rent concessions dropped from 8 weeks to 2 weeks on a Broomfield townhome deal in 3 months
- How the firm underwrites with base, downside, and upside scenarios to survive market swings
- The Castle Rock 60-unit mark-to-market deal and why it fit the buy box
- What the 21st Century Road to Housing Act could mean for BTR investors
Stay tuned for upcoming episodes featuring Realberry’s leadership team and behind-the-scenes property walks through some of Denver’s most recognizable developments.
Watch the Youtube Video
Timestamps
00:00 Introduction
01:13 Realberry background and $3.5B AUM
02:13 Taylor’s path into real estate
05:06 Building 400 BTR units with American Housing Ventures
06:25 Why Colorado has so few build-to-rent deals
08:07 Water tap fees and impact fees
10:02 The 100 to 2 deal funnel
13:17 Inside the Realberry investment committee
20:07 Where deal flow comes from
23:12 How Realberry underwrites in today’s market
35:22 Concessions burning off in Broomfield
37:20 Construction costs, insurance, and tax appeals
40:07 The Castle Rock mark-to-market deal
44:51 Class A vs Class C dynamics
47:43 Colorado water rights
50:17 The federal housing bill and BTR
Links in Podcast
Realberry
- Website: https://www.realberry.com
- Portfolio: https://www.realberry.com/portfolio
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/realberryinvest
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realberryinvest
- Investor inquiries: [email protected]
Taylor Hazlett
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taylor-hazlett-6a62a725
Who is Realberry?
Realberry, formerly McWhinney, is a Denver-based real estate investment, development, and management firm founded in 1991 by brothers Chad and Troy McWhinney. For nearly 35 years, the firm has focused on creating places people love, with a portfolio spanning master-planned communities, multifamily, hospitality, industrial, and mixed-use developments. Its work includes Denver Union Station, Dairy Block, the Crawford Hotel, and Centerra, and has earned ULI Awards of Excellence, Michelin Keys, and U.S. News Best Hotels recognition. Realberry is family-founded, community-centered, and future-focused.
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