How should individual accredited investors approach private-market real estate investing in 2026? In a market with higher potential inflation and volatility, multifamily is once again in focus.
The multifamily opportunity in 2026 is best understood not as a broad call to apartments, but as a selective thesis built on pronounced dispersion across geographies, product types, and strategies.
For one, high mortgage interest rates and other factors have caused renting to be the more realistic housing option for many; CBRE reports a 105% monthly premium to buy versus rent, showing the renter pool continues to expand.
At the same time, the development cycle is cooling: per NAHB, multifamily starts are expected to fall to 392,000 units in 2026 and 367,000 in 2027, after completions reached a 38-year high of 608,000 units in 2024.
That combination supports a more selective investment strategy: favor markets where rent growth remains positive, supply is more metered, and rent growth potential is less exposed to luxury lease-up competition.
With a diverse national portfolio of more than 25,000 multifamily units and a 40 year operating history, Lightstone has earned a reputation for identifying innovative and untapped opportunities in multifamily real estate. Leveraging their footprint, Lightstone has unrivaled insights into macro fundamentals to inform underwriting decisions based on actual data.
What’s more, Lightstone coinvests a minimum of 20% in each Lightstone DIRECT deal, aligning their outcomes with investors.
Highly sought-after multifamily investments are now within reach.
Why Geography Matters More Than Ever
Effective asking rents posted consecutive monthly gains in February 2026, per RealPage, but performance was highly uneven across regions.
The Midwest led with 2.0% annual rent growth in February 2026 and the Northeast followed at 1.5%, while the South was flat and the West was down 1.4%.
That pattern is consistent across every major data provider: rents in high-supply markets like the Sun Belt and Western regions are expected to lag behind pre-pandemic levels, while low-supply markets like the Midwest and Northeast will see increases.
In practical terms, the Midwest’s current advantage means lower competitive pressure from new deliveries, fewer concessions, and a healthier balance between demand and available supply. For investors, those conditions can produce a more durable cash-flow profile than markets where new luxury products are still clearing.
Of Lightstone’s 25,000+ multifamily units under management, 14,304 units are in the Midwest and 10,325 are in Michigan*. This concentration directly aligns with the regions where first- and third-party data show healthier rent performance and less severe supply pressure.
The Lightstone DIRECT Advantage
In 2025, Lightstone’s multifamily portfolio averaged 94% occupancy, posted 2.7% year-over-year rent growth, and delivered 5.8% year-over-year NOI growth. Critically, Lightstone is a vertically integrated owner/operator, with asset management and property management team in-house. Individual investors on Lightstone DIRECT benefit from this approach when investing in the same multifamily opportunities Lightstone pursues with its own capital.
This operating record demonstrates Lightstone is already executing in the lane this market is rewarding: regional concentration, operating scale, renovation throughput, rent progression, and disciplined debt structure.
With Lightstone DIRECT, accredited individuals can access the same multifamily opportunities that Lightstone pursues with its own capital.
Investors work with a well-established real estate firm with $12B+ in assets under management and a four decade real estate track record that includes operating through multiple recessions, credit crises, and recoveries.
*As of 12/31/2025
All investments involve risk. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
For accredited investors only
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