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Now that Continental Properties Company, Inc. has closed its multifamily development fund, it will pursue selective opportunities to build more housing in suburban communities.

Through Continental Properties Real Estate Development Fund IV, L.P., the rental housing manager has raised $203 million. The Wisconsin-based firm said the proceeds will fuel the development of between 10 and 15 multifamily communities, which will be constructed through its brands Springs Apartments and Authentix Apartments.

Planning To Be Selective

A key strategy under Fund IV will be being selective and exploring "compelling opportunities," as noted by Kim Grimm, EVP and chief development and construction officer at Continental.

Particularly, Continental is using the housing shortage to its advantage in suburban areas throughout the country.

Also, the firm plans to explore multiple price points through the markets it builds in.

"Multifamily construction starts have declined dramatically since the peak in 2022, and much of the development we've seen in recent years has been focused exclusively on the luxury segment at the expense of the middle market, " Jim Schloemer, co-founder and CEO of Continental and recent chairman of the National Multifamily Housing Council, said in a statement.

"That widening gap between supply and demand, combined with a historically wide affordability gap between renting and owning, gives us real conviction in Development Fund IV's strategy of building workforce-attainable suburban housing in under-supplied markets."

Current Portfolio And Where Rents Are Growing Strongest

The fundraising announcement today brings the total raised from private real estate funds since 2019 to roughly $2 billion.

In addition to residential, Continental Properties invests in retail. The developer's portfolio map currently shows 98 properties in the U.S., ranging from Sun Belt markets including Arizona, Texas and Florida to the Midwest in states like Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota.

It's unclear if Continental Properties will target new regions such as the Northeast with Fund IV.

For multifamily, a new RealPage report projects national effective rent growth of about 2.4% from the fourth quarter of 2026 through the third quarter of 2027. However, it's uneven across the board, with markets including Miami, Cincinnati, Oakland, Los Angeles, Denver and San Diego expected to see increases of at least 3.1 percent, while others where more supply is coming in, like New York and Washington, D.C., are projected to gain in just the 1 percent range.

So the question for Continental, as it looks to expand its portfolio, is what markets make the most sense both short- and long-term to build in?

Source: GlobeSt/ALM