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- May 11, 2026
- Events
With IMN SFR East in Miami fast approaching, we’ve been reflecting on some of the deals we’ve recently financed across the Southeast and why the region continues to attract so much attention from investors.
At this point, the Southeast story is no secret. The easy-money phase of buying at extremely low basis with outsized yields in every market is largely behind us, especially in the most established metros.
But despite higher rates, tighter underwriting, and a more selective investment environment, we continue to see experienced operators actively pursuing opportunities throughout the region.
And importantly, we continue to finance them.
Over the past several months alone, Encore Finance has closed transactions including:
- $12.6 million refinance of a 73 single-family rental portfolio in Georgia
- $3.36 million refinance of an 18-townhome portfolio in Texas
- $9.9 million credit facility secured by 120 condos in Florida
- $3.63 million refinance of a 17-property single-family rental portfolio in Tennessee
- $12.4 million acquisition and refinance of a 130-condo portfolio in Florida
So why does capital continue flowing into the Southeast? A few core fundamentals are still doing a lot of the heavy lifting.
Population Growth Continues To Drive Demand
The Southeast continues to benefit from long-term domestic migration trends that have been in place for years. People are still relocating from higher-cost states like California and New York in search of lower taxes, lower costs of living, more space, and better overall affordability.
That migration creates a durable foundation for occupancy demand for housing across multiple product types, including SFR and BTR.
Job Growth Is Supporting The Story
The population story becomes even more compelling when paired with continued job growth.
Many Southeast markets continue attracting major employers and industry expansion across logistics, manufacturing, healthcare, and technology. Cities like Atlanta, Raleigh, Nashville, and Austin continue benefiting from corporate relocations, distribution growth, and broader economic development initiatives.
That matters because healthy labor markets tend to support both rent growth and occupancy stability, providing a strong backdrop for long-term rental demand.
Relative Affordability Still Creates Opportunity
Another major reason the Southeast remains attractive is relative affordability. Compared to many coastal markets, Southeast metros often still offer more attractive price-to-rent dynamics.
In many cases, investors can still acquire or develop assets at pricing that supports reasonable long-term yield expectations.
BTR Continues To Align With The “Stuck Renter” Trend
Build-for-rent communities continue to fill a very real gap in the market.
Many renters today want the lifestyle traditionally associated with homeownership: more space, a garage, a yard, privacy, and access to suburban neighborhoods. But rising borrowing costs and affordability constraints have pushed ownership out of reach for many households.
BTR communities effectively capture that demand by offering a middle ground between traditional apartment living and homeownership.
That’s one of the reasons we continue seeing strong interest in well-located BTR projects throughout the Southeast corridor. The demographic and affordability trends supporting the product type are still very much intact.
Development Conditions Still Favor The Southeast
Another advantage the Southeast continues to hold over many Northeast and West Coast markets is land availability and a generally more favorable development environment. In many jurisdictions, entitlement timelines are shorter, zoning restrictions are less burdensome, and overall construction costs are comparatively lower.
That doesn’t mean development is easy. But relative to many heavily constrained coastal markets, developers in the Southeast often still have more flexibility to bring projects online efficiently.
The Investment Thesis Has Evolved
All of that said, the investment thesis in the Southeast has matured. The period where investors could simply buy almost anything in a fast-growing market and rely on cap rate compression and aggressive appreciation is largely over.
Today, success is increasingly tied to operational execution. Operators are paying much closer attention to factors like asset management, expense control, financing structure, and exit flexibility.
In other words, investors are no longer chasing easy yield. They’re looking for durable long-term growth supported by real demand fundamentals.
And in many Southeast markets, those fundamentals still remain very compelling.
Looking Ahead To IMN SFR East
As we head into IMN SFR East in Miami, we expect many of the conversations this year to revolve around these themes.
Where are investors still finding opportunity? How are operators adapting to a more disciplined environment? Which markets continue to show the strongest long-term fundamentals? And how should investors think about financing strategy in a market where operational execution matters more than ever?
The Southeast may not offer the same easy trade it did several years ago.
But for experienced operators focused on long-term housing demand, disciplined underwriting, and strong execution, we believe the region continues to present meaningful opportunity.
If you’ll be attending IMN SFR East, we’d love to connect and discuss what we’re seeing in the market. Drop me a note at mmacneil@encorefinance.com.
Check out our Events page to see who is attending from the Encore team.
