Berkadia, NYU Stern Host University Teams for Second Annual Case Competition

News| December 2, 2025| Connect CRE

Berkadia recently partnered with the Chen Institute for Global Real Estate Finance at NYU Stern School of Business for the second annual Multifamily Investment Case Competition, held Oct. 16-18. Graduate student teams from leading universities nationwide explored the evolving single-family rental (SFR) and build-to-rent (BTR) asset classes. They presented hypothetical investment strategies for a high-impact SFR and/or BTR housing fund on behalf of the State Teachers’ Retirement System.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business team took top honors with its Heartland Communities Fund strategy, which sought to raise a substantial sum to develop nine BTR communities in Kansas City, Columbus, and Indianapolis, creating 1,800 homes. The team’s strategy targeted promising Midwest submarkets for consistent returns, using phased capital deployment to offer homeowner-style housing for those transitioning from traditional multifamily living.

“As someone who is involved in the sale and acquisition of SFR and BTR assets nearly every day and having focused years of my career on this asset class, I was blown away by the students’ fund strategies, especially given they had only a week to develop a plan,” said Senior Managing Director Mark Forrester of Berkadia Phoenix, who served as one of a distinguished panel of judges.

Columbia Business School secured second place, and the University of Florida Warrington College of Business took third place. This year’s competition also featured teams from NYU Stern, UCLA Anderson and University of Texas at Austin McCombs.

As part of preparing for the case competition, Berkadia and NYU hosted an educational series on the SFR/BTR space. They invited industry leaders in development, capital allocation, and financing to speak with the case participants including Brent Long, President of Christopher Todd Communities; Tanner Maddux, Chief Investment Officer at Sunstone Two Trees; Gentry Hoit, Chief Strategy Officer at ARK Homes for Rent; Brett Moss, Managing Director at Berkadia; Sherzod Ibragimov, Principal at SIP Ventures; Mackinley Robinson, Senior Director at Berkadia; and Rob Hodge, Senior Vice President at More Residential.

Brent Long also served alongside Mark Forrester on the panel of judges, along with Matt Blank, Co-Founder of BB Living; Darrin Rowe, President of Taylor Morrison; Ashish Karamchandani, Executive Vice President at Heitman; Sharon Wilson Geno, President of the National Multifamily Housing Council; Cameron Jones, Portfolio Manager for Nuveen US Equities Fund; and Stella Pappas, Head of Investor Relations at TruAmerica Multifamily.

“Berkadia was honored to partner with NYU Stern, highlighting our commitment to supporting young professionals and future leaders in real estate,” said Justin Wheeler, Berkadia’s CEO. “Engaging with eager, thoughtful participants and judges with deep expertise in SFR and BTR was exciting. This event was made possible by the dedication of university teams, fellow judges, and NYU’s sustained support.”

Pictured: The University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business team.