Walker & Dunlop facilitates Freddie Mac-backed loans for workforce and affordable housing
Starwood Real Estate Income Trust has finalized a refinancing deal worth nearly $2 billion for a nationwide multifamily portfolio, largely made up of workforce and affordable housing units. The move highlights growing interest from major investors in this segment of the housing market.
The REIT, which operates under Miami-based Starwood Capital Group, obtained $1.719 billion in financing to refinance 12,955 residential units spread across 52 properties in 10 states. The loans, structured as 10-year agreements through Freddie Mac, were arranged by Walker & Dunlop, a commercial real estate finance and advisory firm headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland.
A portion of the portfolio includes assets acquired in late 2021 from Strata Equity Group, a San Diego-based firm. That earlier deal involved more than 15,000 units across 62 properties, primarily located in high-growth Southeastern states such as Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina.
According to company leadership, many of the properties are situated in fast-growing regions experiencing strong population inflows, supporting long-term investment potential for both lenders and stakeholders. Specific property locations, however, were not disclosed.
The refinancing comes at a time when institutional investors are increasingly focusing on workforce housing opportunities. Earlier this year, Citi introduced a five-year, $60 billion initiative aimed at supporting the development, acquisition, and financing of at least 250,000 affordable housing units across the United States.
This initiative includes a focus on housing options for essential workers and more affordable rental solutions in high-cost urban markets.
Similarly, Bridge Housing, a San Francisco-based firm managing approximately $4 billion in assets, recently launched its first private equity fund dedicated to affordable and workforce housing projects along the West Coast.
Starwood REIT’s broader portfolio includes a mix of property types, with affordable housing accounting for roughly 25% of its holdings as of late February, according to company data.
Notably, the scale of this refinancing exceeds the total volume of Freddie Mac loans securitized by Walker & Dunlop in the first quarter of the year, which stood at $1.59 billion, based on CoStar data.
For the record:
The deal was handled by Walker & Dunlop team members Dustin Stolly, Aaron Appel, Jonathan Schwartz, Keith Kurland, Adam Schwartz, Sean Reimer, Michael Stepniewski, and Michael Ianno.
Source: Original reporting by Jonathan Lehrfeld, CoStar News.
