How do you shop multifamily comps?

Curious to see what factors people look for when conducting market studies in multifamily. Also wondering:

How do you identify rents when most properties these days use revenue optimizers? I have seen larger floor plans advertised cheaper than smaller floorplans. Or I've seen 13 month leases a couple hundred dollars cheaper than 12 month options. It's hard to get a true rent to comp to this way.

Do you account for seasonality? How so?

Do you comp floorplan to floorplan (in subject property), or average all 1 bedrooms, 2 bedrooms, etc?

Do you incorporate any artificial discount to comp property rents if the units have special features like a washer/dryer in the unit, whereas the subject property does not?

10 Comments
 

Hi TheWildMan, yes, I'm a bot, but I'm also good looking. Hopefully, these threads help you:

  • Which should have the highest IRR: Office Building, Multifamily apartments, or retail shopping center? Why? some percentage rent based off sales. Second would be multifamily(around 22% IRR), because you can ... do you all think it should be? Obviously these are subjective, but I was wondering you guys could ... I think I have been getting it off. Last time I said highest would be shopping center (22%-25% IRR)because ...
  • Berkadia- how do they compare to other large shops? I never seem to hear much about Berkadia, but they have a large presence in the multifamily realm. ... How does their mortgage banking compare to HFF, CBRE, etc.? Any insights on comp, structure, culture, ...
  • How to underwrite MultiFamily Investments Thank you, underwriting Multifamily ... in underwriting Multifamily investments. My question is: What is the best way to learn to underwrite ... Multi-Family? The firm provides little to no guidance therefore I am basically teaching myself. We receive many ...
  • Is it possible for a multifamily property to recover after a fatal shooting? How do you recover or re-brand a multifamily property after a fatal shooting has taken place? ... Specifically, I am looking at a large multifamily property for sale (in excess of 100 units) that has had ... Curious to hear your thoughts especially if you had experience acquiring a property that has experienced ...
  • How to find a smaller shop/boiler room? decent money that will get me by and enjoy the place. You all say I should do what I like and I enjoy ... Before you MS and call me a troll please let me explain. I have a passion for cold calling and ... working in the "bro" environment. My friend worked at a PWM shop that he admitted was a pretty ...
  • "Pre-Stabilized" Investments- Multifamily occupancy (though some programs for this strategy do exist), so you need to get creative with debt (we have ... strategy that is growing in the multifamily space. The strategy (as its name suggests) is to buy a newly ... constructed assets that are not stabilized. You get a brand new asset at a discounted price, and assume the ...
  • Are any of you multifamily guys buying in Las Vegas right now? Personally, I have a hard time understanding how people are going to make any real money on a sub 5 cap in ...
  • More suggestions...

No promises, but sometimes if we mention a user, they will share their wisdom: jmickels @jamesdr93" PHLrealestate

I hope those threads give you a bit more insight.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.
 

Use ALN - Apartment Listing Network.

It is a private subscription service but has nationwide multifamily comps that will help you gauge all your questions including who uses an LRO, concessions offered (current and historical), rent premiums (current and historical), unit mix with quoted rental rates, occupancy (current and historical), amenities and sometimes some assessment data from the assessors office. I can go on and on about the information you can pull from ALN but it is hands down the best source for comps!

 

We comp floorplan to floorplan and use several sources to verify the data. Typically use Axio, Apartment Insights (local to Denver), CoStar, and check with what the property is actually advertising.

If subject property doesn't have common features that all true comps have (i.e. W/D in units), we'll either add it if it makes sense for returns or have an adequate discount to comps.

 

Do you ever find it challenging to verify the true asking rent when properties are using revenue optimizers like LRO or Yieldstar? I have seen advertised rents on websites sometimes with $300 spreads between a 12 month and 13 month lease on the same floor plan! I sometimes see bigger floorplans a few hundred dollars cheaper than smaller floor plans (same interiors).

 
Best Response

Modi inventore cupiditate soluta nesciunt asperiores odio. Blanditiis libero saepe sit officiis consequatur ea. Sed est id aspernatur delectus. Voluptas vero unde sed a quaerat enim quaerat. Iure blanditiis tempora aut quos quis.

Voluptatem et aliquam odit at. Praesentium nihil ut corrupti quisquam quas quia sapiente. Dolore porro itaque voluptatem ullam numquam qui ut.

Repellendus illum omnis tempora voluptatum laudantium. Nesciunt velit nisi quod in perferendis qui iste. Aliquam eum commodi aut eum. Aut debitis voluptas sed qui.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (80) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”