Original Analysis From People Who Close Deals
Kaufman & Company leadership and industry partners write on the deals, capital structures, and operating decisions behind the headlines, plus founder essays from Daniel Kaufman.
The Rent Squeeze Is Climbing the Income Ladder Just as the Supply Cushion Runs Out
Middle-income renters are falling behind even after three years of softer asking rents, and the apartment supply wave that made those rents possible is now fading.
The Next Starter Homes Are Hiding on Golf Courses and Small Lots
A city golf course sale in Virginia Beach and a lot size ballot question in Massachusetts show that the housing shortage is a land and entitlement problem first.
Seven Percent Mortgages Are Back, and the Supply Problem Is Next
A quarter point weekly jump in the 30-year rate is a buyer problem this fall, but the bigger cost of higher long rates is the housing that never gets financed.
Why We’re Buying Land, Not Building, in This Part of the Cycle
Kaufman & Company’s President & CIO on why the platform is running its land pipeline harder than its construction pipeline right now, and what has to change before that flips back.
What Lean Six Sigma Taught Me About Modular Construction Timelines
Oldivai Capital’s COO, a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, on applying manufacturing-floor discipline to a modular housing schedule, and where most operators still let variance creep back in.
The Entitlement Process Is the Real Underwriting: What Kills Deals in Zoning
Kaufman & Company’s General Counsel on why the spreadsheet is the easy part, and the planning department is where most deals actually live or die.
Private Credit Has Quietly Replaced the Regional Bank for Mid-Market Developers
Kaufman & Company’s CFO on a structural shift in construction and bridge financing that most sponsors under $50M in annual originations haven’t fully priced in yet.
What Emergency Medicine Taught Me About Underwriting Workforce Housing
Oldivai Capital’s CEO, a practicing emergency physician, on the diagnostic discipline he brought from the ER into real estate, and why housing instability shows up in his patients before it shows up in any market report.
The Case for Fewer, Larger Positions: How We Think About Concentration Risk
Diversification is supposed to be free risk reduction. Kaufman & Company’s CIO argues that past a certain point, it just means owning more deals you understand less well.
The Punch List Is Where Development Budgets Go to Die
Oldivai Capital’s COO on why the final 5% of a project consumes far more than 5% of the budget and schedule, and the operational fix most teams skip.
Ground Leases Are Having a Moment, and Most Sponsors Don’t Understand Why
Kaufman & Company’s General Counsel on the structural reasons ground leases are reappearing in deals that wouldn’t have considered them five years ago.
The Real Cost of Capital Isn’t the Rate, It’s the Covenant Package
Sponsors compare loans on rate and leverage. Kaufman & Company’s CFO argues the covenant package is where deals actually get made or broken.
The “Missing Middle” Isn’t a Housing Type, It’s an Income Band, and We’re Building for the Wrong One
Oldivai Capital’s CEO argues the real estate industry has confused a physical typology with an economic definition, and that confusion is quietly worsening the workforce housing shortage it claims to be solving.
Daniel Kaufman’s own essays on real estate and capital markets, live from Substack and Medium. Full profile: Daniel Kaufman →
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Dan Ski & Build, Where the Mountain Meets the Job Site
Daniel Kaufman on mountain resort real estate, independent ski area economics, and housing shortages in ski towns.