Walker Webcast: Amherst's Sean Dobson on housing: rates, SFR and the "Cleavers" Amherst CEO Sean Dobson said there are plenty of reasons for caution in today's housing market. The good news: He isn't seeing a repeat of the Great Financial Crisis (GFC). Dobson spoke with Walker & Dunlop Chairman and CEO Willy Walker on Sept. 17 during the 2026 Zelman Housing Summit in Boston. The conversation was broadcast as a Walker Webcast on Sept. 23 and covered topics ranging from Federal Reserve policy and legislation to why Amherst remains committed to single-family rentals. The Fed Continues to Fight Yesterday's Inflation Dobson said the Federal Reserve has been "late" in responding to economic conditions, keeping rates too low before and after the GFC and then responding to COVID-19 with what he called excessive monetary and fiscal stimulus. "When you do that, housing takes the brunt of those mistakes in both monetary policy and fiscal policy," he said. "I think that raising rates today is fighting inflation that was caused a couple of years ago." The action has also increased the cost of capital. "America's cost of capital has gone up about 100 to 150 basis points, which is a lot," he said. But This Isn't Another 2008 Dobson said the current housing market lacks a critical ingredient of the GFC: a catalyst that would create a massive wave of distressed supply. The problem in 2006 and 2007 wasn't simply that home prices had exceeded fair value, he said. Millions of homes were temporarily financed through adjustable-rate and payment-option mortgages. When those loans reset, borrowers could no longer afford their payments, creating a wave of defaults and excess inventory. Fast-forwarding to the post-pandemic years, Dobson said the fiscal response was "ridiculously too large," while long-term interest rates remained at 2% and 3% for an extended period. Buying power increased, as did home prices. "With the GFC, you only had the fiscal side that caused the problem," Dobson said. "On this one, you've got both the fiscal and monetary issues." The current situation likely won't trigger another GFC because fewer people are buying homes. Many people earning $80,000 a year can't qualify for a mortgage large enough to buy a large home, Dobson said. At the same time, the market faces a shortage of tradable housing. Millions of owners with low-rate mortgages are reluctant to sell, making the number of homes available for transaction, or "float," considerably smaller than the overall housing stock. An Outdated Mortgage Model Dobson also offered a blunt assessment of the mortgage market. Eighty-five percent of families aren't homebuyers, though they'd like to be homeowners. "Maybe they're not married, maybe there are two sets of kids involved, maybe the buyers are just roommates, or maybe it's a single mom with some kids," he said. The problem, Dobson said, is that the mortgage market hasn't kept up with today's reality. "The mortgage market is still looking for the Cleavers, and there's a lot of families that don't look like the Cleavers," he said. Additionally, today's young families are expected to take on debt and bet on a single asset in a single location to buy a home. "Now, there's a bunch of societal benefits for people to think and act like owners in their community and in their neighborhood," Dobson said. "But I would tell you for the families that we call ours, they are not to be disrespected." The other issue is that elected representatives seem to ignore non-homeowners. Dobson said that when he raised the topic of renting families during sessions on the Road to Housing Act, the response was that lawmakers don't care. While the government provides grants on 98% of mortgages in the United States, "they won't finance my families," Dobson said. The SFR Bet The dynamic helps explain why Amherst remains committed to single-family rentals (SFR), even as the industry has struggled to grow since the company entered the business in 2011. Dobson said Amherst initially saw a large pool of renters who had been banned from homeownership by tighter post-GFC mortgage standards. The company believed single-family homes could be operated much like commercial real estate, creating a long-term rental sector between a traditional two-bedroom apartment and an owner-occupied three-bedroom house. However, while Amherst has "run as tight a ship as your best multifamily operator," it ran into higher costs of capital. "As the cost of capital came down, we could expand a bit more, but then we ran into COVID and the interest rate spike," Dobson said. "Those two things have really been heavy headwinds against the industry, but we're confident that we're getting it to where it will be part of the housing ecosystem." The Housing Caveat For Amherst, the next biggest worry is stagflation, with the combination of rising oil prices, higher interest rates and declining incomes potentially damaging most financial assets. Dobson said the risk could be real, especially if the Fed keeps fighting yesterday's inflation. "So the biggest concern is, are we going to drive up the cost of capital at the same time we drive down the economy?" he said. "Also, how does this war, oil, a larger government and federal deficit conspire to bring down GDP and drive up inflation?" Dobson said Amherst anticipates a 12% chance of stagflation or a recession. "It's not that high now," he said. "But it's one of those things that, if it gets high enough, you have to pay attention to it." On-demand replays of the September 23 Walker Webcast are available through the Walker Webcast channels on YouTube, Spotify and Apple. Subscribe to get invites, replays and articles for new Walker Webcast episodes every week.

Walker & Dunlop grows hospitality and European Capital Markets platform. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. today announced the continued expansion of its hospitality and international capital markets capabilities with the appointment of Patrick Saade as senior managing director, Capital Markets, and co-head of Hospitality Advisory. Based in London, Saade will advise owners and investors on acquisitions, dispositions and capital strategies across Europe, Middle East and Africa. Hospitality investment and financing activity is accelerating as operating fundamentals strengthen, and global investors seek opportunities across the sector. The strategic hire allows Walker & Dunlop to meet that demand, expanding its hospitality platform, with Saade working alongside Jay Morrow, co-head of Hospitality Advisory on strategic cross-border mandates. Along with their Walker & Dunlop colleagues in debt advisory, they will drive the growth of the company's hospitality practice, providing owners and investors with integrated investment sales, debt, equity, and capital advisory solutions. "Hospitality is an increasingly important part of our capital markets business, and our clients seek advisors who can connect opportunities with capital across markets and geographies," said Kris Mikkelsen, executive vice president and co-head of Capital Markets at Walker & Dunlop. "Pat brings exceptional hospitality expertise and global relationships that strengthen our ability to serve those clients. This expansion reflects our ongoing commitment to investing in senior talent with deep market expertise who can help execute sophisticated investment strategies." Saade joins Walker & Dunlop with more than 16 years of real estate experience, having advised on more than $15 billion of hospitality transactions throughout Europe and globally. Together, Saade and Morrow will work closely with the firm's capital markets professionals to connect global capital with investment opportunities across EMEA and the United States. The appointment underscores the rapid growth and momentum of Walker & Dunlop's European Capital Markets business. The EMEA team advises leading institutional investors across debt and equity transactions across Europe and the United States. Engagements span multifamily, student housing, data centers, office, and industrial assets ranging in size from $20 million to $1 billion. "The European capital markets are entering an exciting phase," said Claudio Sgobba, senior managing director, Capital Markets and co-head of EMEA Debt, Equity and Structured Finance at Walker & Dunlop. "We are building a focused pure play capital markets platform around exceptional people and are attracting some of the market's best talent. Pat's arrival further strengthens our ability to advise across the full capital stack and deliver integrated solutions, particularly as demand for sophisticated, cross-border capital markets advice continues to grow. His track record is an exceptional fit for the platform we are building across EMEA." Walker & Dunlop's EMEA Capital Markets platform provides debt advisory, equity advisory, and investment sales services across the United Kingdom and the Continent. The team leverages the firm's U.S. platform and global capital relationships to deliver integrated solutions to its clients in Europe and the United States. To learn more about its EMEA capital markets capabilities visit its website. About Walker & Dunlop Walker & Dunlop (NYSE: WD) is one of the largest commercial real estate finance and advisory services firms in the United States and internationally. Its ideas and capital create communities where people live, work, shop, and play. Its innovative people, breadth of its brand, and its technological capabilities make Walker & Dunlop, Inc. one of the most insightful and client-focused firms in the commercial real estate industry. "W&D UK Investment Sales Pvt Ltd is an Appointed Representative of Langham Hall Fund Management LLP, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority"

Walker & Dunlop arranges $390M construction financing for Park Tower at Journal Square. ROI-NJ Staff(Jersey City) September 4, 2026 Commercial real estate finance and advisory services firm Walker & Dunlop Inc. announced Sept. 3 that it has arranged $390 million in construction financing for Park Tower, a new Class A mixed-use multifamily development in Jersey City's white-hot Journal Square neighborhood. Walker & Dunlop Capital Markets Institutional Advisory arranged the loan as exclusive adviser to Namdar Group. Aaron Appel, Keith Kurland, Jonathan Schwartz, Adam Schwartz, Dustin Stolly, Sean Reimer, Jordan Casella, Christopher de Raet and Edward Leboyer arranged the floating-rate, interest-only senior construction loan from Affinius Capital and the floating-rate, interest-only mezzanine loan from BH3 Fund Advisors. "Park Tower brings together market-rate and affordable housing, extended-stay accommodations and retail in one of the region's most active transit-oriented neighborhoods," said Appel, senior managing director of Capital Markets and co-head of Institutional Advisory at Bethesda, Md.-based Walker & Dunlop. "This financing reflects the strength of the project, Namdar Group's vision for Journal Square and continued institutional demand for housing in the market." Rising 47 stories and encompassing about 501,000 square feet, Park Tower will feature 1,049 residential units, 944 market-rate apartments, and 105 affordable apartments. The market-rate residences will include 743 alcove studios, 179 one-bedroom apartments and 22 two-bedroom apartments, while the affordable residences will include 21 studios, 60 two-bedroom apartments, and 24 three-bedroom apartments. The commercial component will include 30 extended-stay hotel units, complemented by ground-floor retail. The project is expected to be completed by May 31, 2029. "We continue to see strong demand in Journal Square from young professionals, students and middle-income residents who want a Class A living experience with convenient access to Manhattan," said Effy Namdar, chief investment officer at Namdar Group. "Park Tower's intentionally designed unit mix directly responds to that demand while offering premium amenities and rents that remain attractive compared with Manhattan. We appreciate Walker & Dunlop, Affinius Capital and BH3 Fund Advisors for their partnership and for recognizing our vision for the project and the continued growth of Journal Square." Located in the heart of Journal Square, Park Tower will be a five-minute walk from the Journal Square PATH station, providing direct access to the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan and 33rd Street in Midtown Manhattan. The neighborhood's connectivity to New York City, coupled with its relative affordability, has continued to drive residential demand and new development. The transaction continues Walker & Dunlop's partnership with Namdar Group in Jersey City's Journal Square neighborhood. In September 2025, Walker & Dunlop arranged a $220 million refinancing for 626 Newark Avenue, a 576-unit, Class A mixed-use multifamily property, followed by $180 million in financing for 35 Cottage Street in July 2026 to support the 27-story, 564-unit luxury multifamily development.