The affordable housing market needs attention NOW! It's emerging as an exciting opportunity for developers and promises to quickly become an asset class unto itself. The advantage will go to those developers who quickly realize the benefits of working with affordable housing. Those willing to invest time and resources can realize the potential and value of this new, and viable asset class.

Derek Lobo is called the "Apartment Guru" because of his decades of speaking, writing, consulting, brokerage transactions, relationships, amortized knowledge, and industry wisdom. He is one of the most connected individuals in the apartment industry, living by his personal motto: Always stay in traffic!

As a student of new apartment construction, student housing, and affordable housing, Derek has established a sterling reputation and industry credibility as an expert advisor in these fields. To date, he has authored 18 books and is the visionary behind the Apartment University online learning portal.

Firmly established as a "thought leader," Derek's unwavering mission is to impact one of the world's greatest challenges—the lack of rental housing. He has leveraged his advisory expertise into his Apartment Development FULL Service Experience™ brokerage firm, which continues to serve landowners, financiers, developers, and apartment building owners.

Now in his fifth decade of business, Derek's desire is to become an "Apartment Collaborator." He is carrying out his vision by bringing together like-minded, talented individuals to work with him, solve business challenges inherent in the development industry, and create opportunities in the rental housing market.

Derek's keen insight and strategies have allowed him to broker some of the nation's largest and most complex real estate transactions. He is currently the Broker of Record and CEO of SVN Rock Advisors Inc., Brokerage.