Clovis-based IDEAL Capital Group has expanded its multifamily investment footprint to 10 states as the firm seeks opportunities in shifting apartment markets across the U.S. From left, Kevin Conway and Mitch Souza. Photos courtesy of IDEAL

IDEAL Capital Group has expanded its multifamily investment footprint to 10 states as the Clovis-based firm looks for opportunities in a shifting apartment market.

The firm has developed and acquired more than $3 billion in real estate, representing more than 15,000 units, and currently operates more than 160 properties, according to the company’s website.

Managing Director Kevin Conway says he founded IDEAL in 2017 with company President Austin Herzog, initially investing their own capital in high-quality apartment properties while creating opportunities for friends and family to invest alongside them.

(Disclosure: The Business Journal’s Publisher Gordon M. Webster, Jr. is Herzog’s uncle)

That strategy has since grown into a national investment platform with more than 1,300 investors, said Mitch Souza, director of acquisitions.

Souza, a Clovis native and former California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo football player, joined IDEAL in late 2020 after working in corporate finance and data center analysis at Apple in the Bay Area. He oversees acquisitions, including sourcing properties and working with brokers, and assists with equity raising. 

Reaching 10 states gives IDEAL and its investors more options to diversify geographically, Conway said.

Looking beyond California

Over the years, the company has increasingly looked outside California, including recent investments in markets such as Omaha, Nebraska. Conway said the Midwest offers markets with diversified economies, less apartment oversupply in some areas and housing that remains affordable.

IDEAL recently acquired an affordable property in Omaha, its sixth acquisition of the year. Conway said the property was purchased below replacement cost, meaning it would cost more to construct the property than the acquisition price.

“It’s a market that hasn’t exploded in growth, but also hasn’t suffered some of the same issues that other markets have due to oversupply of new apartment construction,” Conway said.

The geographic expansion comes as multifamily conditions increasingly diverge from market to market.

 

Souza said rent-to-income ratios can be significantly lower in Midwestern markets than in California, which gives residents more room in their budgets and allows rents to grow more consistently.

“In the Midwest, we see 20%,” Souza said. “The national average is just a hair over 30% and in California, that can reach upwards of 50% plus, which just means you’re spending every dollar you make, half of it going to your living expenses.”

Finding opportunity in a shifting apartment market

Even with IDEAL growing nationally, the company remains focused on multifamily housing. Conway said the firm’s strategy is built on conservative underwriting, long-term ownership and lower leverage. 

“Our No. 1 goal is don’t lose money,” Conway said.

IDEAL looks at hundreds of investments every year but buys only a small fraction. Souza said the firm reviewed more than 300 investment opportunities in 2025 and acquired one property. 

“And that’s not because there weren’t deals that maybe we could have done, but kind of having the prudence to pass on deals and the confidence in the deals that we’re going to do,” Souza said.

IDEAL also invests its own capital in every deal, which Souza said helps keep the firm focused on quality over quantity.

The current market has led to opportunities for that approach, Conway said. Higher interest rates and weaker multifamily conditions compared with the past decade have reduced competition for some properties, allowing IDEAL to find deals at more favorable prices.

Staying rooted in the Central Valley

Souza says larger investment firms may shift capital toward other property types when multifamily becomes less attractive, creating openings for firms like IDEAL that remain focused on apartments.

Since its founding in 2017, the company’s growth has largely been driven by word of mouth and relationships with investors. Its use of Delaware statutory trusts also has helped attract investors looking to complete 1031 exchanges while getting exposure to multifamily properties outside California. 

Although IDEAL’s investment footprint now stretches across 10 states, Souza says the company remains rooted in the Central Valley. The firm has about 20 employees, many of them born in the area, and investors can still directly contact company executives or visit its Clovis office.

For IDEAL, Souza says, the national expansion hasn’t changed that local approach.