The Hottest Apartment Developer in America (Who Builds For 30% Less Than Competitors) with Steven Campisi, Hillpointe (#422)

In this episode, Chris sits down with Steven Campisi, co-founder of Hillpointe, one of the largest developers of attainable housing in the country. Most apartment developers design a brand new building for every project. Hillpointe has built the exact same building 800 times, which creates advantages that compound over time. That repetition plus their material and labor strategy is how Hillpointe builds across the Sun Belt for 30-40% less than everyone else. They get into their direct overseas sourcing business, how they've built their own in-house subcontractor base, how they underwrite new opportunities, the state of the market, and why they run the whole operation as a series of discretionary funds. Timestamps(00:00) Intro(02:58) Steven's Three-Pronged Competitive Advantage(10:29) Prototype Building Strategy(12:39) Direct-to-Crew Labor and Why Crews Choose Hillpointe(20:02) China Sourcing Operations, Scale & Factory Relationships(25:22) Labor Market Shortages & Specialized vs. Generalist Trades(35:01) Land Acquisition Strategy & Regional Development Teams(41:12) Underwriting Deals(44:09) Achieving Investor Alignment(54:45) Fund Model vs. Traditional JV Equity(1:01:25) Raising Institutional Capital(1:09:48) Debt Structure, Supply Glut, and the Road to a 2027 Rent Rebound(1:16:09) AI and Centralizing Operations With an In-House Contact Center Find our sponsors: True North AdvisorsTrue North Advisors is a multi-family office and private wealth advisory firm serving business owners, entrepreneurs, and families since 2000. With over $5.6 billion under management, they're real investors offering conflict-free counsel and portfolios built around your life. Learn more at https://truenorthadvisors.com Collateral PartnersCollateral Partners builds institutional-grade investor materials for private credit, private equity, real estate, and family office firms, the kind of marketing collateral that helps you close capital. Learn more at https://collateral.com/powers Relay Human CloudRelay Human Cloud gives you pre-vetted, fully managed global talent for up to 75% less than hiring locally. Your best people stop doing repetitive work and get back to the work that moves your company forward. Learn more at https://www.relayhumancloud.com/powers Chris on Social Media:X: https://x.com/fortworthchrisInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepowerspodcastLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ Visit our website: https://www.powerspod.com/Leave a review on Apple: https://bit.ly/45crFD0Leave a review on Spotify: https://bit.ly/3Krl9jO