Raising Capital at Gray Capital

Raising Capital at Gray Capital

In this special edition of The Gray Report, Griffin Haddad sits down with Blake Pieroni, Senior Manager of Capital Markets at Gray Capital, for a conversation about life behind the scenes of raising capital for multifamily real estate.Blake recently helped close a $22 million equity raise in just 11 days — the fastest in Gray Capital's history — all while adjusting to life with a newborn at home and chasing a sub-6-minute mile.In this episode, Griffin and Blake dig into:💰 What it actually takes to raise capital — and why Gray Capital's approach is intentionally LP-first🏦 How conversations differ with retail investors vs. family offices and RIAs⚠️ A breakdown of Gray Capital's risk mitigation framework: debt structure, market fundamentals, hold duration, and underwriting assumptions📊 Why conservative rent growth and exit cap assumptions matter — and how aggressive underwriting hurt many Sunbelt sponsors🤖 How Gray Capital is using AI to cut costs, build in-house software, and reimagine investor reporting📈 Want access to Gray Capital's next investment opportunity? Visit graycapitalllc.com and sign up for the Investor Portal to get details on our upcoming deal before it goes live.📩 Subscribe to our newsletter and never miss an update on new deals, market insights, and investor education. graycapitalllc.com/newsletter🔔 Subscribe to The Gray Report for weekly breakdowns of multifamily investing, macroeconomic trends, and what's really happening in commercial real estate.#MultifamilyInvesting #CommercialRealEstate #RealEstateInvesting #CapitalMarkets #GrayCapital #PassiveIncome #RealEstateSyndication #TheGrayReport

2026 at the Halfway Point

Spencer and Griffin break down what the first half of 2026 is really telling us about multifamily real estate, the macro economy, and where the opportunities are hiding. Headline CPI came in at 4.2% — but is that the real story? The team makes the case that core inflation, lagging shelter data, and oil-driven volatility are distorting the headline number, and that the underlying picture may be closer to 3% than 4%.With Kevin Warsh at the helm of the Fed, the rate cut narrative is essentially dead. Markets are now pricing a rate hike as more likely than a cut by year-end — and that's creating a pressure cooker for owners who bet on refinancing relief. Spencer walks through what that means for deal flow, distressed sellers, and why patient, long-term buyers in the right markets are quietly in a very good position.Speaking of the right markets — the Midwest story keeps getting stronger. Q1 2026 deliveries in the Midwest dropped 60% from the three-year average, net migration into the region has flipped from deeply negative to positive for the first time in years, and effective rents are growing again. Meanwhile, the AI infrastructure build-out continues to accelerate, with Meta's just-announced $115M skilled trades academy with Indianapolis as one of four pilot sites.We close with the Q2 Fear & Greed Index from CRE Daily and John Burns Research: 71% of investors are on hold, a record high. Gray Capital is in the 20% that's actively deploying.Subscribe to The Gray Report for weekly breakdowns of multifamily real estate, commercial real estate markets, and the macroeconomic trends shaping where we invest.https://www.graycapitalllc.com/

AI, Energy, and Multifamily

The Gray Report is back with one of its widest ranging episodes yet. Spencer Gray and Griffin Haddad cut through the noise on everything from geopolitics to ground-level multifamily operations. This week: Bill Pulte just added Director of National Intelligence to his FHFA responsibilities — what does that mean for the long-anticipated Fannie & Freddie IPO? Oil prices are back down despite the Strait of Hormuz remaining closed, markets are pricing in a ceasefire, and rate cut hopes have nearly evaporated — where does that leave multifamily deals trying to refinance in 2026? Spencer makes the case for data centers in the face of growing NIMBY backlash, breaking down why the environmental concerns are largely overblown and why resisting the AI buildout is like refusing to get internet in 1995. Plus — the CRE distress cycle is finally coming to a head. With $76.6 billion in CMBS loans maturing this year and delinquencies at post-2008 highs, the "extend and pretend" era is over. High-profile operators are losing investor capital, and the market is being forced to flush. The guys also break down how Gray Capital is using AI internally to eliminate up to $1M/year in software costs while actually growing headcount — and close out with a Jargon Bin deep-dive on the three offering documents every LP needs to understand before signing anything: the PPM, Subscription Agreement, and Operating Agreement. New episodes every week. Subscribe, drop a comment, and share with a fellow investor. 📧 Get the #1 multifamily newsletter and explore investment opportunities → GrayCapitalLLC.com

Is the "Extend and Pretend" Era Over?

The multifamily market is finally hitting its inflection point. Spencer Gray and Griffin Haddad break down the growing wave of high-profile distress hitting syndicators, and what it means for investors across the country. In this episode: • Why "extend and pretend" is ending for overextended multifamily assets• The $15M equity wipeout at Open Door Capital and other notable distress stories• How the war in Iran, rising oil prices, and higher interest rates are reshaping the market• What makes Gray Capital's portfolio different from deals currently in trouble• Deep dive into Newmark's Q1 2026 US Multifamily Capital Markets Report• RealPage Analytics on how interest rate resets changed the rules for multifamily capital markets• How capital rotation has re-priced newly built multifamily• Cap rate trends and where interest rates may be headed Plus: Gray Capital closes $22M raise for Fairmont Apartments in just 12 days, a recap of their annual Indy 500 investor event, and congratulations to race winner Felix Rosenqvist! 📩 Interested in investing with Gray Capital? Visit graycapitalllc.com🔔 Subscribe for weekly multifamily market updates every week

Investor Conversation: Mike Montana

What does it look like to build steadily in real estate for 25 years — starting with a duplex, doing the work yourself, and growing one deal at a time — before most people in the industry even know your name? In this episode of The Gray Report, Spencer Gray sits down with longtime friend and LP Mike Montana of Kipper Construction for a candid conversation about an unconventional path from aspiring preacher to pharmaceutical sales rep to full-time real estate investor and builder.Mike's approach has always been straightforward: buy things that cashflow, do right by your partners, and keep showing up. This conversation is a reflection of that.In this episode:• From preaching to properties: the winding road that brought Mike to real estate• The Rich Dad, Poor Dad moment that changed how he thought about money• Flipping houses before 2008 — and getting out just in time• How Kipper Construction grew from managing their own properties to running 90% third-party projects• The leap from value-add to ground-up development, and what that process really looks like• Why Mike is still bullish on multifamily — and how he thinks about housing demand and the Midwest market🔗 Learn more about Kipper Construction: kipperconstruction.com🔗 Learn more about Gray Capital: graycapitalllc.comSubscribe to The Gray Report for more investor conversations, market insights, and multifamily deep dives.