The Federal Reserve's move to quickly hike interest rates this year has injected a heavy dose of uncertainty into one of the most reliable commercial real estate investments over the past decade: multifamily. Despite a national housing shortage that has driven historic rent growth this year, lenders, developers and investors have paused deal-making because of the drastic change in the math underlying purchases and loans. “We are one of those that are sitting on the sidelines because [of] pricing and the cap rates," said Vicki Lundy Wilbon, the president of Integral Group, an Atlanta-based mixed-income housing developer. "We’ve gotten to the point that it is not a time that we are eager and ready." 
Multifamily sales transactions fell 17% in the third quarter nationally, according to data provided by MSCI, although they are still up 25% year-to-date over 2021.Industry leaders said at Bisnow's Southeast multifamily conference in Atlanta this month that they are highly cautious about entering into new deals until they get…  Read the full story here. | 
