Investing Across Market Cycles and Delaware Statutory Trust Investments

Key Takeaways:

• What are the Four Stages of a Real Estate Cycle?
• What are some Current Macro Real Estate Trends Impacting Investment Real Estate?
• Why Should Delaware Statutory Trust Investors Be Aware of Current Real Estate Trends?

One of the questions that frequently pops up in investment conversations these days is: what stage of the “real estate cycle” is the market currently in, and how does the current cycle impact the world of Delaware Statutory Trust 1031 exchanges?

The first caveat that must be iterated here is that nobody can predict the future of any market, and there are always material risks associated with investing in real estate, which investors should carefully consider with their own tax and legal advisors. However, by taking a closer look at typical real estate cycles and why these cycles are important to understand, investors can be better prepared for the future, and maybe recognize why more and more real estate owners are selling their properties and moving into DST 1031 exchanges.

What is a Real Estate Cycle?

A market cycle basically refers to the periodic ebbs and flows that occur in the economy and across individual sectors, such as technology, stocks and bonds, and real estate. Real estate cycles typically include a wave pattern that moves across the four phases of trough, expansion, peak, and contraction. Understanding the real estate cycle can help people anticipate shifts in the market and make more informed decisions relating to their real estate asset, whether it’s a single-family home, multi-family building, commercial building, or net leased property.

Understanding the Four Real Estate Cycles:

• Trough/Recession: In the recession phase, supply has over-exceeded demand, and demand drops—causing downward pressure on values, high vacancy rates and negative rent growth. Anyone who owned real estate during the “Great Recession” faced dramatic events such as loan defaults, massive layoffs, and vacated homes that owners abandoned after property values plummeted. Still, some speculative investors look at this cycle phase as a good time to buy as property values will be at rock bottom. Some of the advantages of buying real estate during recessions include lower prices, less competition, and many sellers might be more willing to offer provisions as improvements and amenities. If successfully executed, a buyer who purchases during a trough or recession will wait and hold the investment property until the real estate cycle circles back, and the downturn is over—as the market begins to recover and eventually expand.
• Recovery/Expansion: English theologian and historian Thomas Fuller once famously said, “It’s always darkest before the dawn,” which many real estate investors apply to the earliest moments of a recovery. In the recovery phase, the real estate market begins at a low point from the recession and gradually rises in strength. Some people who invest in the recovery phase look at core real estate assets that will generate stable income with very low risk. These assets include a NNN property with a long-term lease or a fully leased office building in a prime location. Other assets that savvy investors target during a recovery phase of real estate investment include value-add real estate, and opportunistic investments like distressed properties or even raw land. While many people have a hard time identifying when the trough stage segues into the recovery phase, experts look at trends like gradual occupancy increases or growing demand to identify when the recovery stage has begun. The recovery phase is a popular time for real estate investment and speculation since prices of properties are typically high, which helps the potential for a solid return upon the sale of the asset. 
• Peak:The peak phase will be when supply catches up with and even exceeds demand, pushing prices up. During this phase, assets are fully priced, and some real estate investors feel eager to sell at attractive prices and reap profits. However, the peak market can also be a good time for savvy investors to refinance any leverage while interest rates are low and fixed.
• Contraction:The contraction phase generally occurs after the business cycle peaks, but before it becomes a trough. If growth stalls or becomes negative, it can fall into a recession, which is usually defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth. During this period, investors need to act very cautiously while simultaneously monitoring the market for opportunities - because while contraction cycles can be difficult, they can also coincide with some great opportunities. For example, in a recessionary environment, the worst-performing assets are those that are highly leveraged, very speculative, and fraught with risk. For many years, Kay Properties has avoided the sectors of hospitality, senior care, and oil & gas for this exact reason.  

While this cycle pattern is widely accepted as a way to view the real estate market over the long-term, there are many variables that come into play with real estate. For example, real estate is a highly localized industry with different conditions in every state, market, and sub-market making real estate a constantly moving target.

Record-breaking expansion cycle and DST Investment Opportunities

Timing investments correctly may help to increase returns. Yet getting market timing exactly right is never easy unless you happen to be a fortune teller. Right now, the length of the current economic expansion has many people suspecting that we are close to a peak market cycle. However, others suggest current slow and steady growth may be sustainable, and there doesn’t appear to be anything imminent that could derail that pattern. The peak could very well turn out to be more of a plateau than the beginning of the end. Even if there is a contraction or trough ahead, it could be a slight downturn rather than a sharp drop off a cliff. There are numerous variables that contribute to the shape of market cycles that range from Fed monetary policy to market bubbles that pop, such as the housing and dot-com booms that caused the last two recessions.

But real estate experts point to several macro real estate trends that suggest it might be a good time for investment property owners to consider selling their buildings and consider DST 1031 investments. Even if we cannot know if we are currently experiencing a peak in the real estate market cycle, many real estate investors have seen their properties appreciate significantly and recognize an opportunity to sell and potentially unlock trapped equity.

About Kay Properties and www.kpi1031.com

Kay Properties & Investments is a national Delaware Statutory Trust (DST) investment firm. The www.kpi1031.com platform provides access to the marketplace of DSTs from over 25 different sponsor companies, custom DSTs only available to Kay clients, independent advice on DST sponsor companies, full due diligence and vetting on each DST (typically 20-40 DSTs) and a DST secondary market. Kay Properties team members collectively have over 115 years of real estate experience, are licensed in all 50 states, and have participated in over $21 Billion of DST 1031 investments.

 Diversification does not guarantee profits or protect against losses.

There are material risks associated with investing in real estate, Delaware Statutory Trust (DST) properties and real estate securities including illiquidity, tenant vacancies, general market conditions and competition, lack of operating history, interest rate risks, the risk of new supply coming to market and softening rental rates, general risks of owning/operating commercial and multifamily properties, short term leases associated with multifamily properties, financing risks, potential adverse tax consequences, general economic risks, development risks and long hold periods. All offerings discussed are Regulation D, Rule 506c offerings. There is a risk of loss of the entire investment principal. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Potential distributions, potential returns and potential appreciation are not guaranteed. For an investor to qualify for any type of investment, there are both financial requirements and suitability requirements that must match specific objectives, goals, and risk tolerances. Securities offered through Growth Capital Services, member FINRA, SIPC Office of Supervisory Jurisdiction located at 2093 Philadelphia Pike Suite 4196 Claymont, DE 19703.