Rents continue to decline nationwide heading into 2026

Hey there,

I hope you had a great weekend!

Every other Monday, I send out a roundup of the most relevant multifamily news and insights, curated from the perspective of both an operator and a passive investor.

Here's what stood out to me this week

The U.S. multifamily market has witnessed its advertised rents dropping for the fourth consecutive month, according to Yardi Matrix’s latest survey of 140 markets. Rates dropped $8 in November to $1,740, continuing a slowing pattern. However, the yearly rental change was still positive at 0.2 percent, which admittedly marked the lowest level since 2021’s first quarter. The build-to-rent segment struggled both in the short and long term, with rates down $10 to $2,185 in November, marking a 0.5 percent downturn year-over-year.

While David is mentioning single-family properties in his post, this dynamic is heavily apparent in the rental market, as well. When having difficulty leasing a unit, the owner tells their PM that "they don't want to reduce the rent, it's below the market rent for this unit".

Assuming the unit is being marketed correctly, if it isn't renting at a certain number, then it isn't the market rent anymore. Doesn't matter what you "think" it should rent for, what it "last" rented for, what it "could" rent for. The market value is lower!

In this episode, I sit down with Harrison Riley to talk through his unconventional path in real estate, starting with building a small multifamily portfolio and eventually deciding to divest so he could focus on capital raising and partnerships. Harrison shares what pushed him away from the day-to-day property management grind, the painful contractor mistakes that shaped how he operates today, and why he chose to shift his attention from Pittsburgh to larger opportunities in markets like Cleveland.

We also dive into how Harrison approaches building long-term relationships with LPs, why trust and transparency matter more than any single deal, and how his thinking around capital formation has evolved over time. Toward the end of the conversation, we explore his unique perspective on combining Bitcoin with real estate as a way to pair two hard assets in an inflationary environment. This episode is a great fit for anyone thinking about raising capital, vetting sponsors, or exploring where real estate and crypto may intersect in the future.

You can also listen to this episode on Spotify.

For this week’s business update, I wanted to share a meaningful milestone… We’ve officially gone full cycle on the first fund we raised at Aligned Real Estate Partners: the Aligned NH Fund I.

We recently closed on the sale of the final two assets held in the fund - 24 South Ave in Derry, NH (4 units) and 561 Silver Street in Manchester, NH (6 units) - bringing this fund to a close. We launched and closed this fund in September of 2022, and just over four years later, we’re proud to say we’ve gone full cycle. While we’re still finalizing waterfall calculations and investor distributions, we’re tracking toward a net 15.25%+ IRR to investors.

We’re especially pleased with these results given the timing. These properties were acquired as interest rates were rising and, in hindsight, near peak valuations for multifamily properties in southern NH. By buying at an exceptional basis and executing our business plans with discipline, we were able to exit earlier than our projected five-plus-year hold period while still delivering what we believe is a fantastic IRR for our LPs.

Looking ahead, we’re preparing to launch the final round of funding for our current fund, the NH Multifamily Fund III. Keep an eye out for upcoming emails with more details, including information on an upcoming webinar where we’ll walk through the fund, recent activity, and what we’re seeing in the market today.

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