Anyone who has searched property portals for a multi-family house quickly understands what's going on. The supply is thin. What appears is often gone within days or changes owner before even going online. At the same time, interest rates are low, vacancy rates are at a historic low, and demand for rental apartments remains unabated. The conditions for investors are as favorable as they have been in years. And yet, many hesitate. Most of the time, it is not the market but rather the financing question.

Property is widely seen as a safe real-asset in inflationary periods. Yet the protection works less automatically than the real-value logic suggests.