The TreppWire Podcast: A Commercial Real Estate Show 380. How Larry Connor Built a Multi-Billion-Dollar Multifamily Machine
Feb 17, 2026
Larry Connor, founder of The Connor Group and adventurer who piloted a private mission to the ISS, talks operations-driven multifamily investing. He explains using AI and real-time data to boost resident satisfaction and retention. He describes deal criteria, short hold strategies, hiring nontraditional talent, and how disciplined risk and purpose guide both investing and daring expeditions.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Start Renewals With A Service Visit
- Begin renewals four months out with a wellbeing visit to address issues before pricing conversations.
- Fix resident problems first to increase renewal rates and reduce costly turnover.
Operations Outperform Physical Upgrades
- Operations beat renovations as the primary value-add in multifamily investing.
- Higher retention reduces turnover costs and yields positive renewal premiums that compound valuation gains.
Recalibrate Return Expectations
- Expect returns to normalize after the liquidity and low-rate era from 2011–2022.
- Tell investors to plan for lower IRRs (around 20–25%), not the recent 30–35% run-rate.