Fannie Mae to Half a Billion: Jon Siegel on Surviving and Thriving in Multifamily

Season 3, Episode 10: In this episode of No Cap, Jack Stone and Alex Gornik talk with Jon Siegel—Partner and CIO at RailField—about building through one of the toughest market cycles, what went wrong after early success, and why staying active matters more than ever. They also get into the private credit boom, the myth of distress deals, and where real opportunities still exist. TOPICS 00:09 – Opening and Jon’s Background 04:22 – Starting RailField with $50M of Institutional Capital 06:03 – Early Deals and Gaining Credibility 10:18 – The Rise of Preferred Equity and Private Credit 14:15 – Why Distress Hasn’t Hit and What Happens Next 20:00 – Market Timing, Cycles, and Staying in the Game 24:08 – Vintage Deals, Underwriting, and What Still Works 27:00 – Portfolio Strategy and Working with Institutional Capital 32:58 – Long-Term Bullishness on Multifamily 36:41 – Final Thoughts and Outlook for 2025 Shoutout to our sponsor, InvestNext. One platform to raise and manage capital for real estate investment. For more episodes of No Cap by CRE Daily visit https://www.credaily.com/podcast/ Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NoCapCREDaily About No Cap Podcast Commercial real estate is a $20 trillion industry and a force that shapes America’s economic fabric and culture. No Cap by CRE Daily is the commercial real estate podcast that gives you an unfiltered ”No Cap” look into the industry’s biggest trends and the money game behind them. Each week co-hosts Jack Stone and Alex Gornik break down the latest headlines with some of the most influential and entertaining figures in commercial real estate. About CRE Daily CRE Daily is a digital media company covering the business of commercial real estate. Our mission is to empower professionals with the knowledge they need to make smarter decisions and do more business. We do this through our flagship newsletter (CRE Daily) which is read by 65,000+ investors, developers, brokers, and business leaders across the country. Our smart brevity format combined with need-to-know trends has made us one of the fastest growing media brands in commercial real estate.