The Ben Lee Group is a multifamily and land advisory team selling apartment buildings across the market-rate and affordable segments: existing apartments, development sites with complex land use overlays, and newly constructed buildings. We advise syndications, private investors, family offices, non-profits, and regional developers throughout Southern California.
Specialties
Most brokers price a building one way: current income. We look at it from every angle: as-is income, development value, by-the-bed value, and covenant or voucher upside. That is the difference between a listing and a sale at the top of the range.
The core practice underneath the niches: market-rate apartments, RSO buildings, naturally occurring affordable housing, and mixed-use across Los Angeles, from 5-unit value-add to a 120-unit NOAH portfolio. Reconciled rent rolls, defensible pricing, and a buyer database built over a decade.
The highest market share and velocity in privately funded affordable housing sites in Los Angeles. HCV and project-based Section 8, LIHTC assets with TCAC regulatory agreements, AMI-restricted new construction, and covenant-encumbered buildings. We track HACLA payment standards and TCAC rent schedules in real time, and we price the covenant, not just the collections.
Sites with complex land use overlays, from a C2 corner on Melrose to an RTI 58-unit project in a HUD-designated DDA. ED1, TOC, and density bonus fluency means we know what a developer will pay per buildable unit, and when that beats the income value of what stands there today.
The highest market share and velocity in USC student housing, with 194 beds currently listed and by-the-bed and co-living product sold across Los Angeles, including UCLA. Per-bed underwriting, master lease structures, patrol zone premiums, and direct relationships with the operators who buy this asset class.
An apartment building near a campus is also a student housing asset. A duplex on a double lot is also a 58-unit development site. A voucher building in South LA trades on payment standards, not market rents. Owning these niches means we see value that generalist brokers miss, and we match each asset with the right capital, whether that is a mission-driven nonprofit, a yield-focused syndicator, or a high-net-worth international buyer. Your building sells to its best buyer, not just its first buyer. And that same discipline is why owners of ordinary apartment buildings hire us too: every exit gets checked before we put a price on anything.
Active Listings
Fifteen listings across our core niches. Every offering memorandum is built in-house: reconciled financials, full entitlement detail, and complete market context.
Seven-story, 118-unit new construction in a Qualified Opportunity Zone on the Western Ave corridor. Vacant delivery for full operational control, with potential QOZ tax structuring for qualified investors and a natural fit for mission-driven affordable operators.
View the OM
2026 construction, 55 workforce housing units (6 studios, 49 one-bedrooms) on the southern doorstep of Downtown LA, delivered vacant and below replacement cost, at a basis comparable to vintage RSO product. 4,400 SF roof deck with unobstructed DTLA views.
View the OM
South LA mixed-use with strong in-place cash flow at $180 per SF and $151,923 per unit. Priced to move.
View the OM
Five spacious 2+1 units under $1M: a classic four-plex plus a 2022-built ADU at a 7.61 current GRM and $185,000 per unit. The uniform two-bedroom mix is built for Section 8 at HACLA payment standards, with an 11.15% market cap as leases roll.
View the OM
Bread-and-butter South LA workforce housing at a $185,000 per unit basis, below the $205,000+ per unit area comps. A single-story four-plex plus a recently built 720 SF two-bedroom ADU, deliverable with two vacant units so an owner-user can occupy the ADU or an investor can set its own payment standards. 9.95% current cap, 12.07% at market.
View the OM
2021 construction, 650 feet from campus and 300 feet from the Expo/Vermont Metro station. $180,682 per bed with a 7.57% market cap.
View the OM
Turnkey five-unit, 20-bed asset on Ellendale Place, the tree-lined showpiece street of North University Park and the premier north-of-campus address. A ten-minute walk to campus, minutes from USC Village, inside the DPS patrol zone.
View the OM
2025 construction, the newest student housing product on the market near USC, inside the DPS patrol zone. A diverse mix of three- to six-bedroom layouts with double-occupancy and single rooms captures students at multiple price points, and every bedroom is fully permitted and conforming.
View the OM
2024 construction, fully leased for the 2026-2027 academic year, at one of the lowest per-bed prices for new product in the patrol zone. An efficient suite mix of 3+3s across two structures keeps management simple, with three suites master leased for built-in income security.
View the OM
The lowest price point new construction opportunity available near USC, fully leased and inside the DPS patrol zone. Unit mix is weighted toward smaller, more efficient layouts, two 3-bed/3-bath and two 4-bed/3-bath units, which lease faster and carry a 7.75% current cap with room to 9.91% at market.
View the OM
A down-to-the-studs renovated 7-bed, 7-bath main house plus a newly built 4-bed, 4-bath ADU at $431 per SF, well below replacement cost, at a 7% current cap. The unit mix captures both demand pools: full-house groups like fraternities and teams on one lease, and individual or graduate students wanting newer apartment-style product. DPS patrol zone, under a mile from USC Village, with a single-family exit built in.
View the OM
Fully master leased new construction in Exposition Park priced below replacement cost. $105,556 per bed, turnkey income from day one.
View the OM
Now reduced to $100,000 per bed. Fully master leased new construction with a 6.57% current cap and 10.38% market cap upon renewal at market rents. Bundled income security with meaningful upside.
View the OM
RTI for 58 income-restricted units on a double lot, Studio City adjacent. Tier 3 HACLA VPS, Highest TCAC/HCD Opportunity Area, HUD designated DDA for tax credit basis boost. Pull permits and break ground immediately.
View the OM
Delivered RTI on a 12,679 SF corner double lot in Echo Park, steps from Sunset Boulevard and minutes to Hospital Row and Downtown. The approved plans are an efficient four-story, no-parking design holding 55 one-bedrooms and one two-bedroom, built for the working-renter gap between rent-stabilized stock and new luxury product.
View the OM
Vacant C2-1D Tier 3 lot on the Melrose corridor, half a mile from Paramount. 17 units by-right, 28 with TOC, or a 40 to 50 unit 100% affordable project through ED1 ministerial approval. Multiple exits: multifamily, creative office, EV charging, owner/user.
View the OM
Delivered RTI for a five-story, 51-unit building steps from Kaiser and Hospital Row, one of the lowest prices per buildable unit on the market today. The approved plans are weighted toward highly efficient one-bedroom layouts, 48 one-bedrooms plus two two-bedrooms and a studio, sized for the workforce housing renter this submarket is built for.
View the OMTrack Record
More than 100 transactions and $450 million in total volume across affordable housing, entitled land, student housing, and market-rate multifamily, including deal experience as an analyst. Below is a selection of closings, not a complete list.
Fully entitled 100% affordable project two blocks from Hollywood Forever. Only the third RTI ED1 sale of 2025 and the largest entitled ED1 project to trade that year. Seller exited clean; a mission-driven buyer now delivers 97 units to Hollywood.
As seen on Traded LA
Purpose-built 24-bed asset in the DPS patrol zone. Marketed to our high-net-worth investor network, generated competing offers in a difficult market, and closed at full list price, one of the highest per-unit outcomes for the asset type.
As seen on Traded LA
Previously listed twice by other agents without a sale. Our marketing campaign engaged foreign and Asian high-net-worth capital, producing a first-time overseas student housing buyer, and we guided the buyer through business plan, financing, and appraisal to a clean close.
As seen on Traded LA5820 Lexington Ave is an RTI ED1 site entitled for 97 units of 100% affordable housing, two blocks from Hollywood Forever Cemetery and designed by JZ Architecture. The Ben Lee Group advised ownership through a stretch when equity was eroding and a loan was approaching maturity, keeping them on a constant pulse of market conditions along the way. That relationship is what put us in position to identify the right capital at the right moment: an overseas fund that found us through our social media presence, looking to pair with a local sponsor and GC to execute. We connected the two sides directly, without the site ever going to market. It closed as only the third RTI ED1 sale of 2025 and the largest entitled ED1 project to trade that year, a clean outcome for ownership and 97 units of affordable housing now advancing toward construction in Hollywood.
This 19-bed student housing asset north of USC had sat on the market for over a year with other agents, generating minimal activity in a submarket where operators had largely stepped back. Rather than recycle the same local buyer pool that had already passed, we activated our proprietary marketing campaign targeting foreign and Asian high-net-worth capital, engaging investors directly in Mandarin. One buyer surfaced through that network: a first-time U.S. real estate purchaser who had never appeared on a comp or prospect list in this market. It took 14 tours to get them comfortable with the submarket and the business plan. The hardest part was the appraisal: comp data in this corridor is notoriously opaque, with few reliable records of what competing properties actually sold for. We backed it with our own data, built from BOVing 47 USC-area properties in 2025 and 67 more year-to-date in 2026. The deal closed at $2,565,000, a 5.72% cap, well below where most product trades today, with the seller redeploying equity into another project exactly when he needed liquidity, and the buyer closing on his first multifamily acquisition in the United States.
Branded the South LA Twin Pack, this disposition paired two South LA Section 8 properties on behalf of a mission-driven developer, each carrying more than $250,000 in deferred maintenance. HACLA and HUD were both working through budget issues at the time, and vouchers were hard to secure, so we paired the eventual buyers with vendors outside the traditional HACLA ecosystem who had access to funding regardless. We pitched the opportunity to 17 operators, matching price point to buy box, and leaned on our buyer-agent network for access to retail investors willing to pay a premium, backed by a clear pitch on cost segregation. Both properties closed with zero retrades to the seller in under 100 days from listing to funded close, sequenced to land before quarter end on the seller's preferred timeline.
A sample of recent work across our core niches. Full track record and references available on request.
Press and Speaking
When journalists, civic forums, and industry conferences need someone who works LA multifamily, land, student housing, and affordable housing deals every day, they call Ben.
Ben joined the Senior Advisor from Mayor Karen Bass's office and the Policy Director of Abundant Housing LA on a panel examining ED1's impact on affordable housing development. Helms Design Center, Culver City.
See the panel on Instagram
Ben joined the "Inside the Affordable Housing Transaction: Brokers and Investors" panel at the InterFace Affordable Housing Southern California conference at the Sheraton Grand Los Angeles, alongside the investors and operators driving the space.
View the conference
KCRW's feature on how private developers are using ED1 to deliver workforce micro-units for Angelenos earning around $75,000 a year, the exact product type Ben sells as both entitled sites and completed buildings.
Read on KCRW
Ben has spoken at Bisnow industry events on Los Angeles multifamily, land, and affordable housing development, alongside the developers and capital markets professionals active in the space.
See the event on InstagramTeam
Our cross-market expertise helps clients preserve and grow wealth by matching each asset with the right capital. We guide clients through every step of the disposition process with clarity, strategic insight, and precision.
Leads valuation, marketing, and negotiation on every assignment. Over a decade in Southern California multifamily and land, with deep specialization in affordability covenants, entitlements, and student housing. CA DRE #02123715.
Runs every transaction from acceptance through close: disclosure packages, escrow coordination, contingency timelines, and document management. Jeff is the reason our escrows stay on schedule and our sellers always know exactly where their deal stands.
Our debt partner. Brian originates and closes permanent, bridge, construction, and mezzanine financing across agency, bank, CMBS, and life company execution, with a specialty in ground-up multifamily construction loans and $400M+ closed. He gives our buyers certainty of execution.
Senior sales leadership and deal strategy, backed by one of the most active multifamily brokerages in Los Angeles.
Produces the marketing engine behind every listing: offering memorandums, email campaigns, and digital distribution to our buyer database.
Keeps clients informed and supported through every stage of the engagement, from listing launch through closing day.
Select Clients
Developers, co-living operators, student housing platforms, and impact investors across Los Angeles.
Partner Network
Every niche has an execution stack. Development sites need architects. RTI projects need general contractors. Student housing and affordable assets need specialized leasing and property management. We partner with the vendors who execute in these niches every day, and those relationships help our deals sell: buyers move faster and pay more when the path from close to performance is already mapped.
Free Property Valuation
A complete broker opinion of value, built the same way we build our offering memorandums. No cost, no obligation.
Ben responds personally, usually same day.
Goes directly to The Ben Lee Group. No obligation.
FAQ
Call a broker who specializes in covenant-encumbered assets. We sell HCV and project-based Section 8 buildings, LIHTC assets with TCAC regulatory agreements, and AMI-restricted new construction. We track HACLA payment standards and TCAC rent schedules in real time and price the covenant correctly, which generalist brokers often miss. Voucher rents can exceed market rents in many South LA submarkets, and that difference belongs in your price.
Development sites are valued by price per buildable unit, not just lot size. Value depends on ED1, density bonus, or TOC eligibility, RTI status, TCAC/HCD opportunity area designation, and HUD DDA status for tax credit basis boost. We have active land and RTI listings from Hancock Park to North Hollywood and provide free highest-and-best-use valuations that cover all of it.
A specialized pool of operators and investors who underwrite by the bed, not by the unit. We have sold student housing across LA and currently have 194 beds listed near USC, from new construction inside the DPS patrol zone to master-leased assets, and we maintain direct relationships with the buyers of this product.
We do, at institutional scale. Current listings include a 118-unit Qualified Opportunity Zone asset in South LA and a 55-unit DTLA-adjacent building, both 2026 construction, both delivered vacant and below replacement cost.
Start with a valuation that covers every exit: as-is income value, development value, student housing value, and voucher upside. We underwrite every angle and market to each buyer pool, from mission-driven nonprofits to yield-focused syndicators to international capital, so your building sells to the buyer who pays the most.
Yes. Apartment buildings are the core of the practice: recent closings include RSO buildings, a 120-unit NOAH portfolio, mixed-use assets, and apartment buildings from South LA to Van Nuys to Santa Monica. The niche expertise is what makes us better at selling an ordinary building, because every exit gets checked before we price it.
Yes. Free broker opinion of value, no obligation to list. Request one above or call 347-579-3071.
About
Ben Lee is the founder of The Ben Lee Group, a multifamily and land advisory team with more than 100 transactions closed and $450 million in total volume. His practice spans existing apartments with strong affordability components, development sites with complex land use overlays, newly constructed apartment buildings, and niche product types including student housing and co-living.
The practice is built on underwriting. Every listing starts with a reconciled rent roll and a defensible price. Every buyer gets a complete package: financials, entitlements, and the policy context that moves value, from TCAC schedules to HACLA payment standards.
The Los Angeles Business Journal has described Ben as one of LA's foremost experts in privately funded affordable housing, and he has spoken at major industry events including Bisnow and the Westside Urban Forum. He tracks HACLA, TCAC/HCD, and city entitlement policy as it changes.
Contact
Call, text, or email. Ben answers his own phone.
