PassivePockets: The Passive Real Estate Investing Show

Pulse Check 2025: Multifamily, Debt Funds & Liquidity

Jan 20, 2026

The hosts reflect on 2025's surprises, highlighting how gold and silver steadied them amid market uncertainty. Contrary to predictions, multifamily distress was less widespread than expected. They emphasize the importance of liquidity and spot exciting opportunities in multifamily, flex industrial, and neighborhood retail for 2026. Discussions also touch on selective office markets and the implications of interest rate changes. Additionally, the hosts share insights on investment strategies, operator risk, and survey results indicating a strong appetite for multifamily and debt.

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ADVICE

Keep Liquidity Ready For Deals

Prioritize liquidity: cash, lines, and redeemable debt funds to move quickly on opportunities.
Seek day-one cashflow in multifamily and be cautious around supply and operator quality.

INSIGHT

Niche Demand: Flex Industrial And Neighborhood Retail

Paul highlights niche demand for flex industrial serving small business franchisees.
He expects neighborhood retail to remain durable with recession-resistant tenants.

ADVICE

Bet On The Jockey, Not Just The Deal

Jim Pfeifer prefers debt funds and A-class multifamily now while targeting higher-upside niches selectively.
He stresses operator quality as the primary decision factor for value-add multifamily.

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Chris Lopez, Jim Pfeifer, and Paul Shannon run a year-end Pulse Check on what worked in 2025, what did not, and where they are deploying capital in 2026. The hosts compare notes on gold and silver, why hard assets helped, and why many expected more multifamily distress than actually appeared. They dig into operator risk, liquidity as an edge, and the niches they like now, from B-class value add with day one cash flow to flex industrial and neighborhood retail. They also cover contrarian views on office and coastal markets, the interest rate outlook and fixed versus floating debt, non-performing loan plays in multifamily, and fresh survey data on where passive LPs plan to invest this year.

Key Takeaways

2025 recap: hard assets helped. Gold and silver hedged uncertainty while real estate rewarded disciplined underwriting
Fewer fire sales than expected: multifamily distress was patchy and operator specific rather than a broad wave
Liquidity matters: dry powder, lines of credit, and redeemable debt funds enable fast moves on real opportunities
2026 opportunities: multifamily with positive leverage, flex industrial for small business users, and durable neighborhood retail tenants
Class focus: lean toward higher quality assets and cleaner capex profiles when the price is right
Debt positioning: many LPs favor income and down-stack protection; consider fixed rate for sleep-at-night, float selectively if thesis supports it
NPL angle: buying notes on discounted basis can create multiple paths to value if you underwrite conservatively
Market views: watch select coastal recoveries and Midwest affordability tailwinds; expect fewer easy wins and more operator-driven value
Community pulse: survey shows strong 2026 appetite for multifamily and debt, with investors sizing checks meaningfully higher than last year

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