Multifamily Development Screener
The Multifamily Development Screener is a free Excel multifamily development model that screens a ground-up apartment project from the unit mix and development budget through construction financing, lease-up, a permanent refinance and sale, a two-tier GP and Co-GP waterfall and returns by party, so you can see quickly whether a site pencils.
What’s inside
Model Features
Unit Mix and Site Data
Up to ten unit types with counts, sizes and monthly rents, plus acreage, FAR, gross and rentable square feet and building efficiency.
Development Budget and Timing
Land, hard costs, soft costs and contingency, each with its own start and end month, shown per unit, per GSF and per RSF.
Construction Loan
Sized on loan to cost and drawn after equity, with capitalized interest, capitalized loan fees, exit fees and the lease-up operating shortfall carried in sources and uses.
Lease-Up and Operations
Lease-up start, absorption pace and stabilized vacancy drive occupancy month by month, with collection loss, concessions, other income and expense lines that can flex with occupancy.
Property Tax Reassessment
Taxes reset after completion based on a reassessed share of the budget, the assessment ratio and a reset lag, so stabilized NOI carries the new tax bill.
Refinance and Sale
A permanent loan sized to the tightest of minimum DSCR, minimum debt yield and maximum LTV, then a sale at the exit cap rate and month you choose.
JV Waterfall and Sponsor Fees
GP, Co-GP and LP equity, a preferred return and promote, plus acquisition, development, financing, refinance, disposition and asset management fees split between GP and Co-GP.
Returns and Sensitivity
Return on cost, development spread, unlevered and levered IRR, equity multiple and profit, with an IRR sensitivity on exit cap rate and sale month.
Monthly Cash Flows
Equity and construction loan draw schedules, permanent loan debt service, debt yield, ICR and DSCR by month, with built-in checks that confirm the waterfall ties out.
Live Excel Formulas
Nothing is hardcoded or locked. Every cell is traceable.
When to use it
What a Development Screener Is For
A development screener answers the first question on a new site: does the deal pencil? Enter the unit mix, the budget and the timeline, and in a few minutes you see the stabilized return on cost, the development spread and what the deal returns to each party after construction financing, lease-up and a refinance or sale.
It is not a substitute for a full development underwrite. A deal headed to investment committee or LP diligence needs a line-item budget tied to the GC contract, a real draw schedule, an absorption study and the exact waterfall in your operating agreement. For more complex distribution structures, see the 4-Tier IRR GP Catch-Up Waterfall or the 5-Tier IRR-EM Hybrid Waterfall. Buying an existing property instead? Use the Multifamily Underwriting Model.
How it works
How to Underwrite a Multifamily Development with This Model
- 01
Enter the Site and Unit Mix
Acreage, FAR, gross and rentable square feet, and each unit type with its count, size and monthly rent.
- 02
Build the Budget and Timeline
Land, hard costs, soft costs and contingency with start and end months, then the lease-up start, pace and stabilization.
- 03
Size the Debt
Construction loan terms on loan to cost, then whether and when to refinance. The permanent loan is sized to the tightest of DSCR, debt yield and LTV.
- 04
Set the Equity and Fees
GP, Co-GP and LP shares, the preferred return and promote, and each sponsor fee with its GP and Co-GP split.
- 05
Read the Returns
Return on cost, development spread, IRR and equity multiple for the project and for each party, plus the sensitivity on exit cap rate and sale month.
Because the budget, rents, timing and financing are all inputs, you can test a lower land price, a slower lease-up or a higher construction loan rate in seconds and see how return on cost and each party’s IRR move.
Who it’s for
Who Uses This Model
CRE firms, developers and multifamily operators screening ground-up sites, LPs and Co-GPs pressure-testing a developer’s pro forma, and analysts who want a clean, institutional-grade real estate development model to learn from or build on.
Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a multifamily development model?
A multifamily development model projects a ground-up apartment project from land acquisition through construction, lease-up, stabilization and exit. It ties the development budget and timeline to construction financing, operating cash flows and a refinance or sale to calculate return on cost, IRR and equity multiple.
How is a development model different from an acquisition model?
An acquisition model starts from an operating property with a T12 and rent roll. A development model starts from a site and a budget, so it has to handle construction draws, capitalized interest, lease-up, a property tax reset at completion and the permanent loan that takes out the construction loan.
How does the model handle the construction loan?
Equity funds first and the construction loan funds the remaining costs, sized on loan to cost. Interest and loan fees are capitalized into the balance, the operating shortfall during lease-up is carried in sources and uses, and the loan is repaid at the refinance or the sale.
What returns does the model calculate?
Stabilized return on cost, development spread, unlevered and levered IRR, equity multiple and profit, plus returns for the GP, Co-GP, JV entity and LP, both gross and net of sponsor fees.
Is the Multifamily Development Screener really free?
Yes. Enter your name and email and the Excel template downloads right away. Every formula is live and nothing is locked.
Can Reina Property Group model a development for us?
Yes. RPG's investment team builds development models for CRE firms and developers, with line-item budgets, draw schedules, lease-up assumptions and the exact waterfall in your operating agreement, and can support the construction debt and JV equity raise.
Custom models
Need a Full Development Underwrite?
When a site clears the screen, Reina Property Group’s investment team builds the full model: a line-item budget tied to the GC contract, draw schedules, absorption, tax abatements and the waterfall in your operating agreement. See our real estate financial modeling services and construction debt and JV equity raising. More free templates are in the model library.
Free download
Download the Model
Enter your name and email below and the Excel file is yours. Live formulas, nothing locked.