Despite obstacles, multifamily development market on the mend

The multifamily development market continued to face a number of hurdles in 2021, after weathering the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic the year prior. Moving into 2022, a number of issues, such as rising costs of labor, construction materials and supply chain issues continue to challenge the market, but experts remain optimistic.

“I always describe the development business as kind of like if someone gave you a used car, and you gotta take a long road trip,” Chris Leggee, senior vice president, capital markets at The Calida Group, told IREI in an exclusive video interview. “It’s gonna break down a number of times along the way — along the development process — but you’ve gotta get the right mechanics to put it back together and to keep the process going.”

The Calida Group is a major developer, investor and operator of multifamily real estate properties in the western United States.

Leggee said that although it was a challenging year for multifamil