Over the past 40 years, Pennsylvania-based Morgan Properties has grown into one of the nation’s largest owners of multifamily housing. Ranked No. 3 on this year’s National Multifamily Housing Council’s top 50 apartment owners, its portfolio held 96,277 units as of Jan. 1, up from nearly 93,000 the prior year.
Morgan Properties has continued to grow by selectively targeting institutional multifamily portfolios with significant barriers to entry—and particularly through complicated transactions.
A key acquisition last year was its Keystone portfolio in July, with 11 assets and over 3,400 units in its home state, where it owns and manages over 14,000 units.
“As the state’s largest multifamily owner, we were able to provide the seller with execution certainty, while many of our local and regional competitors faced capital constraints,” say co-presidents Jonathan and Jason Morgan, the company’s second generation.
Morgan Properties has continued its growth trajectory in 2025. With the acquisition of its Trilogy portfolio, 11 communities with over 3,000 units across eight states in the Midwest, the company surpassed the 100,000-unit mark, owning and operating over 360 communities in 22 states.
“As a national multifamily investment firm with an existing presence in six of those states, we had a strategic advantage over competitors, many of whom were only bidding on a handful of properties rather than the full portfolio. The deal also involved complex financing, requiring both the assumption of existing Fannie Mae debt and the arrangement of new financing,” the brothers note.
Over the past 12 months, Morgan Properties has made significant strides in the multifamily credit space. It purchased seven additional Freddie Mac K-Series B-pieces, bringing its total to 47 B-pieces since 2017.
“The corresponding loan pools collectively contain 1,915 underlying loans and approximately $43.8 billion in unpaid principal balance,” the Morgans say. “In addition to its continued success in the B-piece space, Morgan Properties remains an active provider of preferred equity behind agency loans, with recent closings involving both Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. This continued activity highlights Morgan Properties’ commitment to expanding its credit platform and investing across the capital stack.”
Jonathan and Jason Morgan share with Multifamily Executive how the company has evolved since their father founded it in 1985, the decision to not go public, their goals for the coming year, and the legacy they want to see four decades from now.
What was the original vision when Morgan Properties was founded four decades ago, and how has that evolved under your leadership?
Our father, Mitch Morgan, came from humble beginnings when he founded Morgan Properties in 1985. He bootstrapped our business with his entrepreneurial spirit, drive, and determination. His first acquisition was a 1,400-unit portfolio, KBF (Kingswood, Brookside, Forge Gate), that he acquired using tax-exempt financing. He assembled a ragtag team of a handful of operations and facilities folks to manage and renovate all 1,400 units over two years. His vision was pragmatic in founding Morgan Properties, and he was mostly focused on his downside since he always felt that if successful, the upside would take care of itself.
His entrepreneurial mindset and drive define us and the culture of our organization. Morgan Properties is one of the fastest-growing multifamily investors in the country, and we own and manage a portfolio of more than 360 properties, comprising over 100,000 units. We are humble yet hungry in strategically growing our portfolio by leveraging strong capital relationships—resulting in more than doubling our holdings over the last five years. That same entrepreneurial spirit has motivated us to establish new business lines beyond the growth of our portfolio. We are now an active provider of capital for whole loans, preferred equity, third-party property, and asset management services, and we have become one of the largest primary market buyers of Freddie Mac K-Series B-pieces, purchasing approximately $1.9 billion of fixed-income securities over the past eight years. As our business continues to evolve, Morgan Properties is bigger and better than ever, and we remain well-positioned to capitalize on growth opportunities.
Reaching over 100,000 units is a huge milestone. How does this reflect the company’s growth strategy over the years?
We are extremely proud to achieve this significant milestone in reaching 100,000 units during our 40th anniversary year. From our humble beginnings to our position as an industry leader today, Morgan Properties continues to grow because of our talented team and incredible partners. We take an opportunity-driven approach to strategically growing our portfolio holdings, focusing on selectively targeting multifamily investments in markets with significant barriers to entry.
Building on our core foundation in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, we expanded into the Sun Belt in response to post-COVID migration trends. More recently, we have grown our presence in the Midwest, drawn by favorable supply-demand imbalance, steady economic growth, and a diversified employment base. Our portfolio has benefited from our geographic diversification, and we have a strong concentration of assets in 22 states and over 60 metropolitan statistical areas, providing valuable economies of scale.
What’s been the most rewarding part of growing Morgan Properties into the nation’s largest private multifamily owner?
In 2011, we filed our S-11 to become a REIT and intended to scale Morgan Properties by using operating partnership units as a currency for growth. While going public would have provided us with access to capital, it would have taken away our entrepreneurial spirit in scaling Morgan Properties into the industry leader we are today. Eventually, we decided not to go public, and it was by far the best deal we never did. In remaining privately held, we’ve leveraged our strong capital relationships to pursue joint ventures with leading institutional investors. Choosing not to go public allowed us to take a contrarian approach and strategically expand into new markets. Since 2011, Morgan Properties has acquired over 80,000 units and closed over $10 billion in total acquisition volume, establishing us as the nation’s largest private multifamily owner—a milestone that validates our long-term strategy.
Morgan Properties has built a reputation for being contrarian and providing execution certainty. What’s your secret to successfully acquiring these large, complex portfolios?
Warren Buffett once said investors should “be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful.” We like to be contrarian, or nonconformist, in everything we do, actively pursuing opportunities where we see value and face limited competition due to factors like size, complexity, and environment. We operate with strong conviction, stepping in boldly during uncertain times and going on offense when our competitors are on the sidelines on defense.
During COVID, we capitalized on market uncertainty and limited competition, acquiring over $2 billion in acquisition volume in early 2021. This included our North Star portfolio, comprised of 14,400 units in eight states throughout the country, and we assumed existing debt as well as new financing sources. We also acquired our 3,300-unit Threshold portfolio in Charlotte, North Carolina, a strategic purchase that has already fully returned our total equity investment. In today’s volatile capital market environment, we continue to differentiate ourselves by providing execution certainty.
Morgan Properties is well-positioned to capitalize on investment opportunities by targeting institutional portfolios with high barriers to entry. While many competitors are sidelined or constrained, we leverage strong capital relationships to provide execution certainty. In times of market uncertainty, sellers value our ability to close deals, allowing us to secure prime portfolios.
With more than 2,500 employees, how do you foster a strong culture across the organization?
We always say that our people are our greatest asset, and our culture is what inspires and empowers them. We invest in our people every day, not only through our corporate headquarters, but with our engagement initiatives and robust career advancement opportunities. Morgan Properties is an amazing place to work—this is not just a job; it is a career within a company that combines the close-knit feel of a family business with the scale and worldwide capabilities of an industry leader. We are committed to doing the right thing for our people, guided by our unwavering culture, ethics, and values, where there are no fixed ideas. We embrace diversity as a competitive advantage, drawing strength from a wide range of backgrounds and perspectives to foster innovation and avoid groupthink.
Our PRIDE values—Passion, Respect, Integrity, Diversity, and Entrepreneurial Spirit—form the foundation for our organization, uniting all employees regardless of geography, position, or tenure. Our director of employee engagement keeps her finger on the pulse of our teams, ensuring meaningful opportunities for everyone. We foster connection and communication through our internal podcast, “Mondays at Morgan,” which features insightful interviews with property managers, department heads, executives, etc. Additionally, our monthly Culture Conversations touch on topics focused on life skills and personal growth, beyond just business topics.
Giving back is a core part of our culture, and our employees embrace these rewarding opportunities. Through our Caring. Sharing. Giving. program, we volunteered over 1,600 hours across 55 charitable events last year. As a family and an organization, we feel very fortunate, and that gratitude drives our commitment to supporting those in need.
You opened your new headquarters last year, how important was this for you and the company?
It was a major decision to move our Pennsylvania-based corporate headquarters to Conshohocken from King of Prussia. Our office had been at our Kingswood property since Morgan Properties’ inception in 1985, so this was an emotional decision for us—particularly for our father. We felt that this was the right inflection point for the business, as we continue to pay homage to our past and look ahead to the future for our organization. Our new headquarters reflects our commitment to modernization, employee retention, and talent attraction in our industry. By investing in our people, we have positioned our organization as one of the largest employers in the region. Today, we have over 470 corporate employees—a 70% increase from just four years ago. We believe that growth creates opportunities across the organization, and that the bigger we get, the better we are. The new headquarters space has been a game-changer for us, and our people are excited and energized by this new chapter.
What are your goals for Morgan Properties in the coming year?
In today’s uncertain environment, when the capital markets are still reeling, Morgan Properties is well-positioned for growth. While most competitors are either on the sidelines or capital-constrained, Morgan Properties can capitalize on opportunities with limited competition. Given the amount of debt maturing this year, multifamily investment opportunities will become increasingly compelling as this year progresses. We are keeping our powder dry so we can capitalize on price dislocation.
Morgan Properties expects a widening gap in the capital stack, if interest rates remain elevated, and intends to capitalize on rescue capital opportunities. Unlike many of our peers, whose exposure to floating-rate debt and high leverage limits their flexibility, most of our debt has term remaining, is lower leverage, and predominantly fixed-rate financing.
We have an asset management department with 50-plus investment professionals managing existing assets while actively pursuing new investment opportunities, which we feel is a competitive advantage in our industry. We also continue to leverage data analytics, business intelligence, artificial intelligence (AI), and other technological advancements in our industry.
Technology is a fast-moving train that brings a lot of noise with it, but we fully expect it will continue to be advantageous to our business when implemented properly. With decades worth of proprietary data across hundreds of properties in our property management system, we can learn a lot from our portfolio by discovering insights. We see AI not just as a trend, but as part of the present and future of our business.
Looking ahead, what are the biggest opportunities or challenges facing Morgan Properties and the multifamily industry at large?
The biggest opportunity for Morgan Properties, and the multifamily industry, is growth through consolidation. The multifamily industry is extremely fragmented, and there is tremendous potential for growth and significant scale for well-capitalized investors that have strong capital relationships and a proven track record. As debt maturities approach and many owners face challenges from floating-rate debt and market timing, we anticipate increased distress and pricing dislocation.
Morgan Properties has minimal exposure to these risks, positioning us to capitalize on emerging opportunities. Multifamily pricing is correlated to interest rates, so we expect many groups will be forced to sell or refinance, often with a gap in the capital stack (rescue capital opportunity). This presents a compelling chance where we can make equity-like returns with credit risk.
The biggest challenge for Morgan Properties, and the multifamily industry, is correcting the false narrative that multifamily owners prioritize profit at the expense of residents. During COVID, for example, many people proposed rent strikes and overlooked the intrinsic value of what we do as housing providers. In response, we launched our Morgan Cares program, directing a portion of rent collections to support first responders, local food banks, hospitals, and essential businesses.
We believe in building true partnerships with our residents. Our mission is to enhance the lives of our residents by providing exemplary service, a best-in-class living experience, and a place to call home. While we continue to lead by example within our industry, we recognize the need to better amplify our message. Each year, we reinvest hundreds of millions of dollars back into our communities, and we directly employ over 2,500 team members dedicated to delivering an elevated resident experience.
How do you hope Morgan Properties will be remembered 40 years from now?
We have an enormous sense of pride and responsibility in leading Morgan Properties into the future. Our goal is to continue to grow our portfolio holdings and maintain our position as the nation’s largest private owner in the real estate industry, while investing in our people and the communities we serve. We are hopeful that one day we will be a successful third-generation family business that is bigger and better with the addition of new verticals within our platform. We believe this evolution will create synergies within the business and unlock new opportunities in the future.
Morgan Properties continues to be a unicorn in the real estate industry as we expand both our equity and credit platforms. We take pride in our ability to invest across the capital stack and remain opportunity-driven, while pursuing contrarian investment opportunities where we see value. Forty years from now, we hope Morgan Properties is remembered not only as one of the largest and fastest-growing multifamily investors, but also one of the most impactful organizations in transforming the housing industry—empowering people to redefine their American dream.
Last, we not only want to change the world, but we want to leave it better than we found it. Hopefully we can inspire the next generation and encourage the importance of philanthropy and giving back, while passing on our drive and grit instilled in us by our father—in doing so, the sky's the limit.
