REAL ESTATE NEWS

TruAmerica Multifamily has closed its TruAmerica Workforce Housing Fund II, with $708 million in total commitments, inclusive of co-investments.

The close reinforces TruAmerica's top standing in workforce housing and underscores the firm's position as one of the largest multifamily owners and operators in the US.

Fund II will help TruAmerica scale its flagship workforce housing investment approach across major metropolitan areas with strong population and employment growth, diverse economic drivers and the need for high-quality, attainable housing to support long-term demand.

U.S. investors represented 65% of total capital commitments.

Workforce Housing Fund II's $708 million in total commitments, including co-investment, provides approximately $2 billion in purchasing power, according to Stella Pappas, executive managing director of investment management, at TruAmerica Multifamily.

"We believe this is the right-sized vehicle for the current market environment," Pappas told GlobeSt.com. "With transaction volumes still recovering and pricing discovery ongoing, the Fund's scale allows us to remain selective and driven by conviction.

"We are not pressured to deploy capital for the sake of deployment. Instead, we are focused on building a diversified, high-quality portfolio while maintaining discipline — prioritizing long-term performance over pace.

Seeking Well-Located, Garden-Style Apartments

Alexis Sofyanos, senior director of investment management at the company, said TruAmerica continues to focus on well-located, garden-style apartment communities in high-growth markets where durable demographic trends support long-term workforce housing demand.

"Our target acquisitions are assets with strong in-place cash flow and positive day-one leverage, where we can enhance operations and the resident experience through proactive asset & construction management—while maintaining relative affordability relative to high-rent, Class A properties," she said.

Sofyanos added that TruAmerica is not pursuing ground-up development or highly transitional assets and instead will focus on stabilized, resilient, needs-based housing with strong underlying fundamentals.

The fund has 25 target markets spanning the Mountain West, Southwest, New England, Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions, providing meaningful geographic diversification. Recent acquisitions include assets in the MSAs of Boston, Seattle and Baltimore–Washington, D.C.

"Rather than making broad regional exclusions, we prioritize submarket-level fundamentals, Pappas told GlobeSt.

"We take a highly disciplined, block-by-block approach to acquisition selection and leverage real-time data from our internal business intelligence platform."

With approximately 65,000 units under management, TruAmerica has direct visibility into performance trends that allow it to proactively identify patterns and deploy capital with conviction, Pappas said.

"Our approach is highly selective — we concentrate capital where job growth, household formation and supply dynamics support long-term performance," she said.

Sofyanos said this strategy remains consistent with TruAmerica's long-standing focus on investing in and improving essential housing.

"Our investment strategy benefits from in-place cash flow and demand driven by everyday affordability needs," she said. "TruAmerica's differentiated edge lies in intensive, proactive asset and construction management, which has defined our platform for years."

Facing Elevated Construction, Financing Costs

Meanwhile, Class B housing is critical to the backbone of U.S. communities, according to Pappas.

"Elevated construction and financing costs have made it difficult to deliver new attainable housing at scale, increasing the importance of preserving and enhancing existing housing stock," she said.

"At the same time, barriers to homeownership continue to keep renters in the market longer, particularly in workforce-oriented housing. Both domestic and international investors recognize the importance of supporting essential housing for the individuals who power local economies and keep communities functioning.

Fundraising More Selective, Capital Constrained

Sofyanos said the fundraising environment today is more selective and capital-constrained than in prior years.

"Investors are concentrating capital with fewer, scaled operators that have demonstrated track records and institutional infrastructure," she said.

"Successfully closing a fund of this size in today's market is a meaningful achievement and reflects the confidence investors place in our team and strategy. We are grateful for the continued support of our existing partners and proud to have expanded our global investor base."

The Fund was raised by TruAmerica's in-house capital formation team led by Noah Hochman, Pappas and Sofyanos. Nomura Securities served as TruAmerica's placement agent in Japan and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP acted as fund counsel, led by partner Eve Mrozek and associate Trevor Herden.

Source: GlobeSt/ALM