Wealth & Finance International 46 Driving Success in Real Estate stablished in 1969, CWS has now amassed a property port- folio in excess of 25,000 units, with approximately $4 billion in market value. With a considerable presence in Texas and other metropolitan areas across the United States, including Georgia, Colorado, North Carolina, California, Washington and Arizona, the firm has a vast investor base of approximately 1,000 sophisticated investors, some of whom have been investing with CWS for over 40 years. This is testimony to the level of excellence that the firm operates at, which Gary believes is primarily down to the hard work of the firm’s dedicated staff and its innovative, client focused approach. “At CWS, our people are a vital part of what makes us successful. Making sure we have the right people who understand the CWS way of doing business and can make the market aware of our presence are our two top goals. It is important for us to have mobile people in our organi- zation who can move to new areas and start in new regions for us. “Fundamentally, CWS is a very unique company in that it has been around for nearly 50 years. We have been able to demonstrate a consistent proficiency of preserving capital, identifying properties with favourable returns, and executing a multifamily real estate investment strategy for our investment partners in a highly tax-efficient manner.” Looking to the wider real estate investment space, the industry is well-positioned to continue to have favourable demand fundamentals due to more people entering their prime renting years, continued diffi- culty in accessing mortgages to purchase homes, people getting mar- ried later in life which tends to keep them renting for longer, the large student loan burden which makes it difficult for millions of people to qualify for mortgages, the large numbers of people in their 20s still living at home who represent a potential source of future rental demand, and the greater willingness of people to preserve their flexibility and minimal capital requirements associated with renting. Some of the challenges firms such as CWS may have to contend with going forward are the risks of a general economic downturn which would constrain or even contract household formations temporarily, the uncertainties related to the Trump administration and corresponding tax and trade policies, a more hawkish Federal Reserve, easier mortgage lending to purchase homes, and the risks of overbuilding. The last issue appears to be diminishing, however, as banks have become much more stringent in their lending for apartment construction which should help keep supply manageable after the current wave is absorbed. Despite these risks, CWS firmly believe that there is still a housing shortage in the United States and it is growing as there are not enough new housing units being built to meet the demand from new household formations and to replace obsolete housing stock. Apartments should remain in high demand as a result, as Gary concludes. “Looking ahead, we continue to believe that apartments offer a solid risk-reward relationship, although more supply and competition for investments requires us to be even more discerning in terms of finding compelling opportunities. Despite more competition and supply and demand being more in balance, the asset class continues to offer very attractive yields, favourable tax advantages, a traditional hedge against inflation, and appreciation potential, and as such CWS will continue to focus on providing excellence in this area over the years and months to come.” Company: CWS Capital Partners Name: Gary Carmell Email:
[email protected] Web Address: www.cwscapital.com Address: 14 Corporate Plaza Drive, Suite 210, Newport Beach, CA 92660 Telephone: 800-466-0020 CWS Capital Partners is a fully-integrated real estate investment management company that specializes in acquiring, developing, repositioning, and managing luxury apartments. We spoke to President and Partner Gary Carmell to learn more. E 1703WF02