E185: Why Institutional Investors Invest into C-Class Real Estate w/Amy Rubinstein

Jul 11, 2025

Amy Rubinstein, CEO of Clear Investment Group, shares her journey from novice to real estate leader, focusing on distressed C-class multifamily properties. She discusses the surprising resilience of C-class housing, especially during inflation, and how her firm creates value by stabilizing mismanaged assets. Amy explains her self-taught path to success, her philosophy on impact investing, and the strategic vision for a comprehensive investment platform. Listeners gain insights into team management, the intricacies of institutional fundraising, and the critical importance of adaptability in real estate.

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INSIGHT

Stabilizing Distressed C-Class Assets

Clear Investment Group buys distressed multifamily workforce housing and restores its value by stabilizing occupancy and rents to market levels.
Stabilization involves rehiring staff, improving management, and addressing maintenance to regain tenant trust.

ANECDOTE

Amy's Real Estate Beginning

Amy started in real estate 23 years ago by buying a house and a condo, learning via appreciation and syndicating her first deal for six units.
Early success came during a rising market from 2003 to 2008, which gave her a forgiving learning curve.

INSIGHT

Resilience of C-Class Housing

C-class multifamily housing is resilient because it serves renters by necessity, unaffected by broader housing market swings.
This sector consistently shows steady performance as there is always demand for affordable, workforce housing.

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I spoke with Amy Rubenstein, CEO of Clear Investment Group, about how she built a thriving real estate platform by focusing on one of the most overlooked areas of the market: distressed C-class multifamily housing. Amy didn’t come from institutional real estate — she taught herself everything from Excel to underwriting by reverse-engineering models, and built a company that now serves both high-net-worth and institutional LPs. Today, her firm consistently delivers 30%+ IRRs by stabilizing mismanaged assets and restoring them to market performance. We talk about her journey from buying a single six-unit property to leading a vertically integrated investment platform, her thoughts on risk and inflation, why C-class housing remains resilient, and how she thinks about scaling her team and her impact.

Highlights:

Why Amy believes C-class multifamily is the most resilient and alpha-rich real estate strategy
How Clear Investment Group creates value by stabilizing mismanaged assets
The learning curve of becoming a solo GP with no institutional background
Amy’s approach to managing and growing a high-performing team
Her philosophy on impact investing — and why they never needed to label it as ESG
Institutional fundraising: the 18-month grind and what comes after the first big check
How her firm stress-tests for interest rate shocks and avoids market speculation
The strategic vision for a one-stop-shop multifamily investment platform

-- Guest Bio: Amy Rubenstein is the CEO and co-founder of Clear Investment Group, a real estate investment firm focused on distressed, workforce multifamily housing across the U.S. Under her leadership, Clear has grown from small syndicated deals to managing institutional capital and generating 37%+ average IRRs. She has over two decades of experience in real estate investing, is a self-taught operator, and remains deeply involved in every aspect of the firm’s strategy and execution.

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-- Stay Connected: X / Twitter: David Weisburd: @dweisburd

LinkedIn: David Weisburd: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dweisburd/ Amy Rubenstein: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-rubenstein-a0514698/

Links Clear Investment Group: https://www.linkedin.com/company/clear-investment-group/posts/?feedView=all

-- Questions or topics you want us to discuss on How I Invest? Email us at david@weisburdcapital.com.

(0:00) Episode preview (1:24) Management and tenant issues in distressed properties (3:02) Amy Rubenstein's industry beginnings and real estate asset performance (5:26) Forecasting interest rates and market conditions (7:59) Interactions with LP base and institutional investors (11:11) Institutional interest and tax benefits in C class real estate (14:07) Essentials of being a successful GP (17:09) Team management and the role of humility (21:22) Delegation, high achievers, and trust (24:19) Growth strategy and future business outlook (26:07) Multifamily real estate and market volatility (29:13) Investment lessons and self-taught skills (33:06) Impact investing and ESG perspectives (35:24) Closing remarks