Apartments pay the rent for Bell.

• Position: Triad - Interview

With credit so tight and the economy still weak, many would-be homeowners find themselves renting instead, and Bell Partners Inc. of Greensboro is narrowing its focus on apartment complexes. It's already the 10th largest apartment manager in the country, owning or operating about 60,000 units in 205 multifamily properties, most in the Mid-Atlantic states, the Southeast and Texas. Its $4 billion portfolio also includes 28 senior-living communities and more than 4 million square feet of retail and office property. Lilt F. Dunn joined the company in early October as chief investment officer after 20 years at Arlington, Va.-based AvalonBay Communities Inc., the second-largest multifamily real-estate investment trust in the U.S.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

The past few years have been tough in the single-family-home market. What about multifamily housing?

As the economy slowed down, the supply of multifamily housing units reached historic lows. In 2010, there are projected to be about 75,000 multifamily-unit starts versus a 10-year average of 240,000 a year. Demand drivers are also strengthening because of accelerating job growth, favorable rental demographics fueled by "echo boomers," and declining home ownership. These demand factors, combined with constrained supply, are creating very strong fundamentals for the apartment market.

Developers in other areas of real estate complain they can't get money for projects. What about apartment developers?

Financing for new construction is more available than it was two years ago, but it is still difficult to obtain.

What changes have you seen in renter demographics?

The echo boomers I mentioned earlier are those in the 25-34 age group, the children of baby boomers. They have a 51% propensity to rent, and the group is expected to triple in size...