As multifamily fundamentals remain uneven in the short term, Harbor Group International (HGI) is staying active—closing new deals and targeting selective opportunities it believes will benefit from longer-term supply constraints and durable demand drivers.
Yisroel Berg, chief investment officer of multifamily at HGI, says the firm is being “constructively cautious.” It’s also leaning on its 40-year history of navigating the cycles as well as its long-tenured executive team.
Although Berg says HGI understands there will be headwinds for the multifamily industry in the near term, he is optimistic for the medium and long term, pointing to drivers such as the nation’s undersupply of housing, the barriers to homeownership, demographic demand forming with millennials and Gen Z, and wage growth.
“The outlook for us is being cautious and conservative in our underwriting and using that to find some good opportunities,” Berg notes.
HGI has been one of the more active multifamily firms in the last 18 months. Headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia, the investment and management firm moved up on the National Multifamily Housing Council’s 2026 owner rankings—jumping from No. 21 last year with nearly 53,000 units to No. 15 this year with nearly 65,000 units. It also made its debut on the top developers list at No. 16, starting 2,913 units in 2025, and its property management arm came in at No. 29 on the top managers list with 62,511 units under management.
Following a productive 2025 on the acquisition side, the firm has had a strong start to 2026. It closed a three-property portfolio in Michigan, a new market for the firm. It also continued its purchasing from Aimco, after acquiring its New England portfolio last year, with a property in Nashville, Tennessee, and one in South Florida.
In May, it closed on nine properties from the previously announced sale of an 11-asset multifamily portfolio across the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast from AH Realty Trust. The nine properties closed at $485 million, with the remaining properties under contract and expected to close at a later date.
Berg attributes the firm’s strong activity to having the ability to move quicky and react in real time as well as using the breadth of HGI’s platform, including the debt, equity, and operating arms.
“Having all those pieces come together allows us to undertake large opportunities,” he says.
According to Berg, another benefit for HGI is having a broader focus, actively investing in diverse products from Class A to workforce and value-add.
“We’re more than anything opportunity-based. We look for individual opportunities in areas where we think we can do well,” he says, adding that HGI looks for strong fundamentals on the ground for the area and the asset as factors for a good outcome.
Berg is anticipating an active second half of the year.
“Hopefully we’ll continue to be active on the portfolio side,” he says. “We’re starting to see larger portfolios on the market.”
In addition to its transaction activity, HGI is making moves to become an even stronger company.
“First, we’re investing meaningfully on analytic infrastructure. That has made us stronger,” he says.
Second, its property management arm is opening an office in Dallas.
“Texas as a whole, especially Houston and Dallas, are the primary areas for multifamily operations. Having a strong operating arm really allows us to be incredibly effective on the transaction side with those pieces playing together,” Berg adds.