Smart Money Resides in Multi-Family Housing. Figures from the Wall Street Journal showed that the investment return on multi-family buildings averaged around 5.8% in 2007. In 2010 that average return had moved up to 7.1%. We're likely to see more than 8.0% for 2011. That's no surprise with the increase in short sales and foreclosures. People still need a place to live. The average investor is ...likely to hold one or several buildings ranging from 4 to 25 units. Often, a group of individuals bands together in order to buy their first building. As they see the tax advantages, and (0 comments)