Deconstruct: Recent Episodes
The Real Deal
In Deconstruct, The Real Deal breaks down the most important ideas in real estate. We follow the money from Los Angeles to New York City to explain what investors, brokers and developers are focused on right now. This is essential listening for understanding the great, big world of real estate.
We're back! The Real Deal’s hit podcast “Deconstruct” is back on Aug. 29 for a second season of breaking down the most important concepts and trends in real estate, with bigger guests and bolder ideas. Hosts Isabella Farr and Suzannah Cavanaugh will kick off the second season of “Deconstruct” by interviewing Bess Freedman, CEO of Brown Harris Stevens, who will dig into the latest in New York City’s luxury market.
Multifamily was the most popular asset class for commercial real estate investors in the first quarter. This popularity was fueled by extraordinary rent growth and historically low interest rates. Investors could get relatively cheap capital to buy up apartment complexes with steady cash flow. But interest rates are no longer historically low. So will the market start to cool? You'll hear from Matt Fotis, a senior managing director at Marcus & Millichap in New York City.
The industrial market is hot. If you’re in commercial real estate, you’ve heard this a million times. But, as we approach mid-2022, interest rates are up, meaning acquisitions and development are both more expensive. And Amazon, obviously the largest e-commerce company, has told the world it has too much warehouse space. So what does this all mean for the industrial market? You'll hear from Barbara Perrier, an industrial broker at CBRE, and Jordan Kovalsky, who oversees acquisitions and asset management for Faropoint across the Midwest. Credits: Reuters
Last month, a two-story home in the Outer Banks, North Carolina, washed away in a storm. We're all seeing rising sea levels, more flash flooding, hurricanes and fires across the country. But are these events of climate change deterring homeowners from buying in certain areas? Deconstruct's Suzannah Cavanaugh chats to Ben Keys, a professor of real estate at The Wharton School at The University of Pennsylvania, Luis Robledo from Douglas Elliman in California and Cristian Salazar, the director of communications at the Center for New York City Neighborhoods. Credit: Storyful, "Beach house collapses into ocean during storm"
Chances are, some of you New Yorkers listening might be spending this Memorial Day weekend in the Hamptons. Some of you might have even bought a house in the last couple of years, some of you might have been lucky to snag a beachside rental property. On this episode, Deconstruct looks at the housing market in the Hamptons and how the dream of lounging on the beach is unattainable for many. You'll hear from Cody Vichinsky, the co-founder and principal of Bespoke Real Estate, and Jeremy Samuelson, the director of planning for East Hampton. Credits: Music by Blue Wave Theory, "Rabbit Ears"
Last weekend, more than 4.3 million people flew across the U.S. — about 1 million more people than the same days last year. But has this pickup in travel trickled down to hotels? Deconstruct looks at how hotels in some markets have completely bounced back from the effects of the pandemic — and others haven't. You'll hear from Kevin Davis, the CEO of JLL’s hotels and hospitality division for the Americas. Credit: CNBC, U.S. Transportation Security Administration
If you’ve tried to buy a house within the past two years, you know first hand how tough it’s been. Inventory is scant, prices are sky-high and if you do find a diamond in the chaos, chances are you’ll have to compete with other buyers to actually secure a winning bid. But now that mortgage rates are rising, are we seeing signs of a housing bubble? The Real Deal's Deconstruct chats with George Ratiu, an economist at Realtor.com and TRD reporter Kathryn Brenzel about how concerned buyers should really be. Credit: CNN
Traded has emerged as a very popular site for brokers, developers and industry professionals to see what has recently, for lack of a better word, traded, and as a way to advertise their own deals. But, who is behind the mysterious account? For this month’s issue of The Real Deal, Joe Lovinger, a reporter at The Real Deal, set on a mission to find out. Deconstruct chats with Joe about Traded and how he did a lot of digging to find out who was behind this account.
Over two years into the pandemic, office towers across the U.S. are still struggling with high vacancy rates. Among the nation’s largest metros, one central business district has emerged as a venerable ghost town — downtown Chicago. Deconstruct chats with TRD reporter Sam Lounsberry about how the Chicago office market has fared. CREDIT: ABC7, WGN News, CBS Chicago
Last week, Blackstone announced it was buying American Campus Communities for $13 billion. And it's not the only firm getting into student housing. As colleges and enrollment numbers have grown and admission rates have dropped, investment firms and developers have started investing in and building more and more apartments around college campuses. But when did the asset class become so institutionalized, and why? Deconstruct talks to Justin Gronlie, Harrison Street's head of education real estate, CBRE's Jaclyn Fitts and Core Spaces COO Chad Matesi. Credits: Yahoo! Finance and CNBC.
If you’re a New York renter, chances are if you haven’t been hit with a rent hike yet, you’re bracing for one. But those colossal jumps don't necessarily mean the market has hit it’s peak. TRD's Deconstruct looks at how rents in New York have come soaring back and how experts think more rent rises are to come. You'll hear from Jonathan Miller, the CEO of appraisal firm Miller Samuel, David Kazemi of Bond New York, Devin Someck, the co-founder of Living New York and Stan Broekhoven of Keller Williams.
In the market for a mansion in Connecticut with a potato shed? How about a Friends-themed two-bedroom home? On social media page Zillow Gone Wild, Samir Mezrahi posts the craziest, wackiest and most outlandish homes found on Zillow. TRD's Deconstruct chats with Mezrahi about how the page has grown over the last two years and some of the wildest homes he's seen. Credits: NBC's "Saturday Night Live," Zillow sketch from Feb. 2021.
Demand for short-term rentals has soared during the pandemic. Companies like June Homes, Blueground and Landing carved out their own niches in the Airbnb-dominated market as renters looked for flexible living during work-from-home periods. Deconstruct's Suzannah Cavanaugh looks at whether these growing rental firms will see continued demand, as companies finalize plans for employees to return to the office. You'll hear from Jamie Lane, vice president of research at AirDNA, and Daniel Mishin, the founder and CEO of June Homes.
Home flippers in California are taking advantage of high housing prices and demand for turnkey homes. But, they could face a 25 percent tax on properties under a proposed state bill. TRD's Deconstruct looks at how it may become more difficult to flip homes and whether it's still a profitable investment opportunity. You'll hear from Page Turner, a broker and home flipper on HGTV's new "Fix My Flip," Tami Pardee, the CEO of Venice-based brokerage Pardee Properties, and Eric Sussman, an adjunct professor at the UCLA Anderson School of Management. Credits: HGTV, Fox 5 San Diego
At the turn of the 21st century, something in New York City shifted. The city’s real estate started to change and suddenly, you had billion-dollar developments and $200 million penthouse sales. In TRD's new book, The New Kings of New York, Adam Piore tracks the biggest players behind New York City's ascent to becoming a global hub for luxury real estate and development — from Kent Swig to Harry Macklowe to Stephen Ross. Deconstruct sat down with Piore to chat about the book. The New Kings of New York is available for pre-order on Amazon now.
The Fed is expected to approve a quarter of a percentage point hike on rates, a raise that will make borrowing more expensive for homebuyers and commercial investors. And now the inflation caused by the war in Ukraine has introduced another variable to the lending puzzle. So what should borrowers expect? You'll hear from Martha Olney, a teaching professor of economics at the University of California, Berkeley, Melissa Cohn, a regional vice president of mortgage for William Raveis Mortgage and Mark Fogel, the CEO and president of ACRES Capital. Attribution: CNBC, "Here's how Fed Chair Powell sees the March Fed meeting."
Bankers and Wall Street employees have racked up incredible bonuses throughout the pandemic, as profits and compensation packages have soared to their highest level in a decade. Deconstruct looks at how financial workers are spending their newfound cash on real estate. You'll hear from Stan Ponte, a senior global real estate advisor and associate broker with Sotheby's International Realty, and TRD reporter Joe Lovinger.
Over the last few years, anonymous real estate-related Twitter accounts have gained thousands of followers, offering up opinions, real estate deals, anecdotes, statistics and real estate jokes and memes. But why is Twitter such an important platform for the real estate industry? And why are some of these anonymous? We speak to two anonymous accounts, Pink Polo Shorts and Cash Flow Cowboy, about why they stay unknown, as well as Moses Kagan, who runs Los Angeles-based Adaptive Realty, and Keith Wasserman, who runs multifamily specialist Gelt, about the benefits of being on Twitter.
Prefabricated and manufactured homes are cropping up more and more across the U.S., as more companies look to build housing in new ways, as a way to help alleviate housing shortages, lengthy construction timelines, environmental issues, and now, supply chain issues. The Real Deal talks to a few homebuilders about the benefits and disadvantages of manufactured housing and how exactly you build a home in a factory. You'll hear from Steve Glenn, the CEO of Plant Prefab, Lauren Tucker, the co-founder of Orbit Homes, and John Geary, the CEO of Abodu. Credits: CBS' WBBM-TV Chicago
Last year, the Los Angeles Rams' new SoFi stadium in Inglewood finished construction, making it the biggest, most expensive sports stadium ever built. But how has this affected the local real estate market? Just in time for the Super Bowl, The Real Deal's Suzannah Cavanaugh looks at how a new stadium can give surrounding resi markets, the draw it creates for business and the fallout when a team decides to move to another city. You'll hear from Dr. Mark Rosentraub, the director of the Center for Sports Venues and Real Estate Development at the University of Michigan, Henry Manoucheri, the CEO of Universe Holdings, and Peter Belisle, JLL's southwest region president. Credit: “Little economic benefit from new stadium” — Investigative Post interview with Michael Leeds; “Why do taxpayers pay billions for football stadiums?” — Vox
San Francisco has had nearly two years to recoup the residents it lost when Covid hit. Like other coastal metros, the housing market has recovered by leaps and bounds. The rental market tells another story. Reporter Suzannah Cavanaugh discusses the trends driving the city’s uneven recovery. You'll hear from Patrick Carlisle, chief market analyst for the Bay Area at Compass, Sylvia Sotomayor, a realtor with MSI Real Estate Services in San Francisco, and Matthew Niksa, a Bay Area reporter for The Real Deal. Attribution: Vertigo — Alfred Hitchcock, Green Gables opening sequence, NBC Bay Area “SF Neighborhood Tired of Rising Crime Bands Together to Hire its Own Security Force."
The family office managing the money of Alibaba execs Joe Tsai and Jack Ma recently purchased a condo at 220 Central Park South for around $190 million — a condo that last sold for $93 million. This extraordinary, almost 100 percent return shows how its becoming difficult to use comps as a way to compare luxury home sales across certain markets in the U.S. You'll hear from Hiten Samtani, The Real Deal's associate publisher, and Jonathan Miller, who runs an appraisal firm called Miller Samuel.
In November, a company called Tokens.com bought 116 parcels of land for around $1.2 million. Only that land wasn't really land. The plots are located in Decentraland — a metaverse, or online virtual world. Tokens.com is one of many firms that are buying up virtual real estate in the metaverse. But, what exactly are these firms using this land for? And is it actually real estate? The Real Deal's Isabella Farr speaks to Tokens.com CEO Andrew Kiguel, as well as Janine Yorio, the CEO of metaverse investment firm Republic Realm and Michael Phillips, the President of Jamestown, which has re-created an iconic Times Square building in the metaverse.
Elizabeth and Ethan Finkelstein are the hosts of Cheap Old Houses, a show on HGTV, and run an Instagram account under the same name, as well as a listing website called Circa Old Houses. We chatted over Zoom about why they got into the business of finding, promoting and restoring Cheap Old Houses, and how their Instagram account blew up to 1.8 million followers.
Texas, the second largest state by population in the U.S., has seen unprecedented growth over the last year. Tech firms have flocked to Austin. Homebuyers are swarming to major metros. On the heels of launching our coverage of Texas, The Real Deal looks at what's driving growth in Texas and how developers are cashing in on the action. You'll hear from Jacob Sudhoff, the CEO of Douglas Elliman Texas, and Dr. Luis Torres, a research economist at the Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M University. Credits: Democracy Out There by Lobo Loco; KVUE segments
For our last episode of the year, The Real Deal's Suzannah Cavanaugh and Isabella Farr discuss whether the rebound of retail, industrial and commercial real estate will continue into 2022 with JPMorgan Chase's Kurt Stuart and excerpts from CBRE's 2022 Outlook Briefing. You'll also hear from Rhino CEO Paraag Sarva discuss how consumer-friendly tech is here to stay. Credits: CBRE's 2022 Outlook Briefing, including excerpts from CBRE's global chief economist, Richard Barkham, global head of industrial and logistics research, James Breeze, and its global head of occupier thought leadership, Julie Whelan.
A look back at the year that was 2021. From the $82.5 million sale of a condo at 220 Park Avenue South in New York City to buying virtual property in the metaverse to WeWork's IPO, we look at the biggest events, deals and trends across the real estate world this year.
Between the pandemic, supply chain issues, labor shortages and now, a new variant, this shopping season is somehow stranger than the last. But, as restrictions have lifted and more of the country are getting booster shots, TRD reporter Suzannah Cavanaugh looks at whether are shoppers are returning to brick-and-mortar retail this holiday season. You'll hear from Ethan Chernofsky, vice president of marketing at Placer, CBRE's Jamie Brooks based in Los Angeles, and CBRE's Annette Healey, who works for the firm's retail brokerage services across the New York Tri-State region.
The Real Deal's Isabella Farr looks at the housing craze that has gripped the region from Westchester up to Albany as buyers have flocked there from near and far during the pandemic. You'll hear from a number of local brokers, including Sally Slater of Douglas Elliman, Nancy Felcetto-Horowitz of Brown Harris Stevens and Raj Kumar and Annabel Taylor from the Lillie K Team at Select Sotheby’s International Realty. We also speak to Katherine Lanpher, a senior editor at Grist, about why she moved to a hamlet in Albany County last year.
Earlier this month, Zillow quit the iBuying business. The firm would no longer buy and sell homes. TRD reporter Erin Hudson discusses what happened and why Zillow's exit from the iBuying industry is so significant. You'll hear from Trulia co-founder Sean Black, who sold his firm to Zillow in 2015, as well as Rick Palacios Jr., who leads research at John Burns Real Estate Consulting.
After the Surfside collapse, Damac Properties submit a bid to buy the site for $120 million for redevelopment. Reporter Lidia Dinkova looks at the stalking horse bidder who is vying for the space, as well as who is supporting redevelopment and who is against it. You'll hear from Martin Langesfeld and Pablo Langesfeld, the family of Nicole Langesfeld, and her husband, Luis Sadovnic who lost their lives in the collapse. Steve Rosenthal, a survivor of the collapse, is also featured. Credits: Damac Properties commercial for Damac Bay from October 2021: and a 2017 NBC News interview with Hussain Sajwani.
Miami Beach's hottest clubs. Palm trees. Art deco buildings. TRD reporter Francisco Alvarado discusses Miami Beach's famous Ocean Drive and how the mayor and city officials are pushing for redevelopment along the strip. Mayor Dan Gelber says redevelopment and a new 2 a.m. last call for alcohol will curb partying, crime and illegal activity. Others, like Mangoes owner David Wallack, say it'll just hurt existing businesses.
The first episode of a three-part series focused on South Florida. In this week's episode, we look at the Surfside condo collapse four months after the disaster. TRD reporter Suzannah Cavanaugh speaks with South Florida reporter Katherine Kallergis on the potential causes of the fall, the players being held accountable and how the catastrophe shook the region’s real estate market. You'll also hear from Jaret Turkell, a broker at Berkadia.
As baby boomers are aging in senior living, developers and investors have shifted gears to meet their needs. TRD reporter Suzannah Cavanaugh discusses how the pandemic hijacked development and whether these ultra-luxe communities are pulling the demand they expected. You'll hear from Rocco Bertini, the executive director at The Watermark at Brooklyn Heights and Watermark's chief investment officer Bryan Schachter; CBRE Valuation & Advisory Services' James Graber who works with seniors housing and healthcare; John Moore, the CEO of Atria Senior Living, and; Bryan Cho, an executive at Related Companies.
Open spaces, greenery and no more rows of cubicles are just a few design trends that have emerged from the pandemic. On Deconstruct, top architects Jonathan Marvel of New York-based Marvel and Bernardo Fort-Brescia of Miami-based Arquitectonica talk about these design trends, why they're so excited about open space, as well as how architecture firms have fared during the pandemic. You’ll also hear Patrice Derrington, a professor of real estate at Columbia University, discuss trends and how developers and architects are adapting to new ways of living and working.
Street vendors, including hot dog carts and art sellers, were hit hard during the pandemic. But are they starting to recover now? TRD’s Sasha Jones talks to two vendors about their businesses, along with Dan Biederman, the head of 34th Street Partnership, about how the real estate industry has clashed with vendors over the years. You’ll also hear John Rennie Short, a professor of public policy at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, discuss how New York City is now trying to save the profession.
To anyone looking for an apartment in New York City, you unfortunately probably won’t be able to find a sweet deal with three months of free rent anymore. We break down what’s happening in the New York City rental market right now and what’s expected through the end of 2021. TRD speaks to Heather Moore, Greystar’s head of property management in New York, Adrian Savino, the director of leasing at Living NY, as well as Robert Schmidt, the co-founder of the Guarantors.
How does a star broker sell a $65 million home? On this week's episode of Deconstruct, Compass broker Aaron Kirman takes TRD's Isabella Farr on a tour of 1108 Wallace Ridge, a 19,000-square-foot spec home in Beverly Hills currently on the market for $65 million.
Over the past few years, institutional firms have spent billions on acquiring and developing single-family rental homes. But what's the attraction? On this week's episode of Deconstruct, TRD speaks to Ed Coulson, a professor at UC Irvine's Center for Real Estate, and Josh Migdal, a real estate attorney in Miami, to discuss why firms like Blackstone, Invesco and JPMorgan like single-family rentals and some of the issues around owning these types of properties.
In March 2020, New York City was proclaimed dead. People fled, looking for more space and cheaper rents, as many could suddenly work from home. But where did they go? And did they come back? On this week's episode of Deconstruct, TRD speaks to Jeff Andrews, a data journalist at Zumper, and Javier Benson-Glanz, a general manager at real estate investment platform Cadre, about how these migration patterns have changed the rental market in New York City.
On this week’s episode of Deconstruct, TRD speaks to Madison Roberts, a real estate agent in Miami who brokers cryptocurrency deals, and Shaun Pappas, an attorney in New York City who has had to figure out how his clients can buy property with their crypto as digital currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum become increasingly popular with investors.