The AFIRE Podcast: Recent Episodes
AFIRE
AFIRE is the association for international real estate investors focused on commercial property in the United States. www.afire.org
In an environment when everyone in US commercial real estate is basically making the same pitch, why are some firms more successful than others at raising capital? Why are some firms more successful than others at getting the deal? In this episode, AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson discusses these questions with the founder, chairman and CEO of Institutional Real Estate Inc., Geoffrey Dohrmann. Branson and Dohrmann decide the key involves relationships and trust, and discuss ways to meet the challenge of building trust across international borders and between investors. Also on the agenda: Wisdom from commencement speeches! Marathon Man star Laurence Olivier’s advice to Dustin Hoffman! And what a catchphrase from one of Geoffrey Dohrmann’s old girlfriends has to do with relationship building in CRE. LINKSGeoffrey Dohrmann LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/geoffrey-dohrmann-cre-9b2b5a2/Institutional Real Estate Inc. websitehttps://irei.com/Dustin Hoffman on Laurence Olivier’s advice in Marathon Manhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fodPlCp-28cIREI podcast with Bob Sessa on how LPs evaluate leadershiphttps://irei.com/video-and-podcast/nextgen-capital-conversations-episode-4-talent-and-retention/Steve Jobs’ 2005 Stanford commencement speechhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLcBlackstone president Jon Gray’s 2023 commencement speechhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7fKDtOqZOYTo hear the globe’s top experts discuss opportunities in US property markets, register for future AFIRE conferences:https://www.afire.org/events/KEY MOMENTS00:00 Marketing vs success01:40 Guest introduction04:08 Winning through trust06:10 Inclusion and actions10:39 Best practices14:34 Ego and leadership17:36 Ownership and accountability21:24 Asset liability managers31:49 Obi-Wan Kenobi comparison34:26 Fiduciary financial objectives38:26 Brand building asset39:38 Commencement speeches43:13 Success and relationships
A nationwide housing crisis is pricing out millions of would-be homeowners. Conventional wisdom suggests the problem is demand, as in, too much of it. But what if the problem instead involves the supply side of the equation — namely, how and where we build? In conversation with Tony Avila of Avila Real Estate Capital, AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson explores why attainable single-family homes are so scarce. The reasons include decade-long entitlement battles and loopy land loans that most institutions hope to avoid. Avila explains how his firm funds regional developers and partners with major homebuilders, while targeting the “sweet spot” of American incomes. Also on the agenda: Migration trends, policy missteps and why the next decade is shaping up to be the world’s biggest housing construction opportunity.LINKSVisit the Avila Real Estate Capital websitehttps://www.avilacapllc.com/ To hear the globe’s top experts discuss opportunities in US property markets, register for future AFIRE conferences:Summer Conference 2026 in Tokyohttps://www.afire.org/events/tokyo26/KEY MOMENTS00:00 – Why housing feels impossible for many right now00:36 – Welcome to the AFIRE Podcast00:49 – Meet Tony Avila01:15 – What’s driving the home affordability crunch02:06 – Entitlements that take decades03:54 – Funding local land developers04:24 – Why land loans are so hard05:19 – Developers turned specialist lenders06:19 – Working with institutional capital09:26 – Builders as LPs and takeout buyers11:10 – Biggest risks to housing projects12:43 – Rates, war and buyer confidence15:39 – Do millennials really hate owning?17:35 – 8 million homes in 10 years19:03 – Where new homes should be built
How can investors gain a competitive edge when seeking deals in the hospitality sector? How can hotels use AI to improve the guest experience? And how can hospitality operators use AI to run hotels more efficiently? AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson explores the topic with the co-founder and managing partner of AWH Partners, Russ Flicker, about how his $2 billion hospitality platform leverages proprietary data and AI to make smarter decisions. When used correctly, Flicker says, AI can help investors to focus on the right deals, optimize operations, and enhance the guest experience. The idea is to turn information into actionable insight and competitive advantage. LINKSVisit the AWH Partners websitehttps://www.awhpartners.com/To hear the globe’s top experts discuss opportunities in US property markets, register for future AFIRE conferences:Summer Conference 2026 in Tokyohttps://www.afire.org/events/tokyo26/KEY MOMENTS00:00 Introduction00:57 Russ Flicker on AWH Partners01:45 AI and data-driven hospitality investing02:56 Submarket focus vs. traditional comp sets05:00 Evaluating hotel metrics and amenities06:33 Balancing gut instinct and data09:14 Building a data-first culture12:28 Hospitality market trends15:05 Transaction constraints and rising costs16:59 AI for deal focus and operational efficiency18:22 AI in revenue and guest experience21:36 Understanding customer behavior24:40 Privacy, data protection, and AI tools27:45 Future outlook for hospitality29:43 Closing remarks
What happens when uncertainty shakes the global economy, and investors start questioning where to put their money? In this episode, AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson talks with Moody’s Analytics Chief Economist Mark Zandi about slowing job growth, shifting trade and immigration policies, and the market volatility that has investors eyeing gold, silver, crypto, and real estate. Zandi highlights both the risks of a potential recession and the opportunities in U.S. commercial real estate, where prices have corrected significantly. The near term may present “bouts of real anxiety,” says Zandi, but in the long term, he adds, “I’m confident that we’ll be fine.” LINKSMentioned in the episode:Trump taps ex-Fed insider Warsh to lead world's top central bankhttps://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-picks-former-fed-official-warsh-run-fed-2026-01-30/To hear the globe’s top experts discuss opportunities in US property markets, register for future AFIRE conferences:Summer Conference 2026 in Tokyohttps://www.afire.org/events/tokyo26/KEY MOMENTS00:00 Introduction00:36 Market uncertainty and investor confusion00:56 Mark Zandi’s background and perspective02:19 Humility in today’s economy03:24 De-globalization and safe-haven assets05:45 U.S. commercial real estate as opportunity07:21 CRE market corrections and valuations08:59 Relative attractiveness for international investors10:29 Single-family rental market overview11:54 Affordability challenges and workforce housing14:37 Local variations and political complexity15:16 Job growth stall and recession risk17:33 Fed rate cuts and policy pressures20:24 Long-term rates and equilibrium forecasts22:22 Inflation concerns and consumer impact25:35 AI, tech investment, and data center boom26:42 Potential bubbles and market corrections30:06 Long-term growth perspective for real estate31:06 Bumps ahead: cyber events and AI oversight32:35 Optimism: U.S. economy resilience34:06 Historical perspective and maintaining cool heads
What is the future of the built environment? The National Building Museum in Washington, DC, where AFIRE members tour this week during our Winter Conference, is a museum about the world we design and build. The museum’s exhibits celebrate building architecture, design, engineering, construction—and the act of urban planning. But most of all, it’s a showcase for the imagination and ambitions of those who help create what we call real estate. In this podcast, AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson interviews James Ball, the National Building Museum’s director of future cities, about the past, present and future of the structures we exist in every day. This conversation is geared to people who invest in developing buildings around the world. LINKSTo hear the globe’s top experts discuss opportunities in US property markets, register for future AFIRE conferences:Winter Conference 2026 in Washington, DChttps://www.afire.org/events/wc2026/Summer Conference 2026 in Tokyohttps://www.afire.org/events/tokyo26/Find the National Building Museum on the web here:https://nbm.org/Ball discusses the NBM’s new exhibit, Coming Together:https://nbm.org/exhibitions/coming-together/ The NBM’s online initiative, I Hope This Becomes:https://ihopethisbecomes.nbm.org/Discussed during the episode was Donella Meadows, the environmental scientist behind The Limits of Growth:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donella_MeadowsKEY MOMENTS00:00 Introductions01:30 What is the National Building Museum? 03:05 Role of built environment in society05:30 History of the building that houses the NBM07:58 How our built world shapes us09:41 Future of the city 11:50 Starchitect fallacy and the genius theory of urban planning14:44 New NBM exhibit: Coming together18:02 Destructive development narratives21:20 How to make buildings beautiful23:50 Museums’ role in real estate26:01 Role of the building user28:25 City as a multi-generational yet still incomplete project 30:25 Message to building industry33:50 New moment in city building35:18 AFIRE visits the NBM36:20 Wrap up
How will demographics affect commercial real estate investing? How will changes in generational characteristics affect opportunities in US property markets? Neil Howe is an author of The Fourth Turning and The Fourth Turning is Here. An expert in generational demographics who is credited as one of the coiners of the term “millennial”, Howe discusses the cycles of history and their implications for cross-border investors in this wide-ranging conversation with AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson.LINKSTo hear the globe’s top experts discuss opportunities in US property markets, register for future AFIRE conferences:Winter Conference 2026 in Washington, DChttps://www.afire.org/events/wc2026/Summer Conference 2026 in Tokyohttps://www.afire.org/events/tokyo26/Watch Neil Howe’s POVhttps://youtu.be/qFm_tFmgBj8Recent Neil Howe books include: The Fourth Turning https://www.amazon.com/s?k=the+fourth+turningThe Fourth Turning Is Herehttps://www.amazon.com/Fourth-Turning-Here-Seasons-History/dp/1982173734/The thinking behind Howe’s theories on the cycles of history:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strauss%E2%80%93Howe_generational_theoryHowe is the managing director of demography at Hedgeye Risk Management:https://app.hedgeye.com/KEY MOMENTS00:00 – How demographics is one of the most powerful factors for investors.00:54 – Who is Neil Howe?01:25 – Why is Neil Howe thinking about Investing and future casting?02:35 – Can the meaning of being 60 change over time?02:57 – What are the origins of generational demography?04:02 – Did we overestimate long-term care this decade?05:05 – Will home-oriented care redefine the future of healthcare?06:28 – Could Gen X be America’s next leadership generation?07:55 – Do crises reform the cycles of American history?08:20 – Are infrastructure-related investments shaped by dark periods?09:06 – How did the Great Depression and WWII shape generations?14:25 – Are we entering a new era of anti-globalization?16:37 – Are we entering the Fourth Turning now?17:12 – Are nations hoarding resources to prepare for crisis?18:32 – What are the hallmarks of the late Fourth Turning?21:55 – How can real estate investors respond to rising inflation?22:47 – Can inflation be controlled in a de-globalizing world?23:07 – Why can’t we effectively tackle inflation politically?24:53 – Is winning the US election now more important than governance?25:50 – Are voters settling for “not the other guy”?26:10 – What steps lead to renewed community today?27:07 – Can understanding history guide today's investments?29:15 – Why does Southern migration keep accelerating?32:09 – Are rising risks changing Sun Belt investments?35:45 – Can old lake cities thrive again?36:30 – Is the lack of public education a deal-breaker for families?39:23 – Are pension costs the hidden urban challenge?40:46 – What’s driving rural decline but urban stability?44:54 – How does age influence where people choose to live?50:41 – Are we building the right types of housing for today?
Co-Chair, DLA Piper01:51 Cross-border investor concerns03:55 How big was the retaliatory tax threat?06:26 What does the bill mean now?08:31 Section 899 is gone, but the risk remains11:45 What should investors be paying attention to?13:45 Can the bond market keep us in check?16:43 Who really influenced policy?19:43 What investors are missing?22:16 Final remarks
For the first time ever, New York City Economic Development Corporation is staging a special Investor Summit in collaboration with AFIRE for international institutional capital that's focused on US property investing. With the summit in mind, AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson sat down with chief operating officer of NYCEDC, Melissa Román Burch, for a pulse check on New York City’s CRE environment.“New York City is an engine that is always thinking about growth,” says Burch. Currently, New York City Mayor Eric Adams has set a goal of creating 500,000 housing units over the next 10 years, with roughly 30,000 units expected to come from office-to-residential conversions. Meanwhile, two new trophy office skyscrapers have broken ground, totaling about 2 million square feet of new infrastructure. Looking ahead, the city projects 400,000 green-collar jobs by 2040, underscoring New York’s commitment to both economic growth and sustainability.The conversation covers the key sectors driving momentum—office, housing, energy, and transportation—while also asking the bigger questions: Where are the opportunities hiding? How will office-to-residential conversions reshape neighborhoods? And what will New York look like in five years?LINKSRegister for the 2025 AFIRE Annual Member Meeting Sept. 9-10 in NYChttps://www.afire.org/events/amm25/Learn more about NYCEDC’s Business Development teamhttps://choose.nyc/Register for AFIRE/NYCEDC Investor Summithttps://www.afire.org/uncategorized/amm25summitreg/Watch the AFIRE POV series of investor interviewshttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOrtO-j6M9aS8Hr7DHeg562A8-HQrxi8oRead the latest articles from Summit Journal Issue #18https://www.afire.org/summit/Access the episode webpage featuring links to audio-only platforms here:https://www.afire.org/podcast/202514cast/KEY MOMENTS00:00 AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson intro01:23 Welcome back, Melissa Román Burch, COO of NYCEDC01:48 AFIRE/NYCEDC Investor Summit Invitation03:37 Pulse check: what’s happening in NYC?06:51 How is NYC handling housing shortages?12:57 How much will NYC change in the next 5 years?16:14 What’s most exciting for institutional investors?19:46 Is NYC just a financial center?23:45 Connecting Brooklyn to the mainland28:31 How are people reacting to the congestion pricing system?33:17 What’s happening with green energy?37:11 What can investors expect in NYC over the next decade?41:30 Final remarks
Geopolitics is rewriting the rules for commercial real estate investors. Can understanding history’s patterns be the key to figuring out what’s coming next?Who better to answer the question than Chair of War Studies at the U.S. Army War College, Michael Neiberg, who uses his expertise of Europe and the U.S. from 1914-1945 to offer valuable insights into today’s global challenges by drawing parallels with the early 20th century.“What we're dealing with now is not the same as other time periods,” Neiberg explains when discussing some of the economic parallels of the 1930s, which can “lead you down some pretty terrifying places, if you let them.” Instead, Neiberg shares some comforting news: “We are in some ways reverting to the norm.”This episode of the AFIRE podcast helps investors and strategists rethink their approaches amid a world that’s far less predictable than it once was.The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Army, Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government. LINKSTake the AFIRE H2 2025 investor survey www.afire.org/survey/h22025invite/Register for the AFIRE Annual Member Meeting www.afire.org/events/amm25/Watch the AFIRE POV series of investor interviews www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLO…DHeg562A8-HQrxi8oRead the latest articles from Summit Journal Issue #18 www.afire.org/summit/Access the episode webpage featuring links to audio-only platforms here:www.afire.org/podcast/202512cast/KEY MOMENTS00:00 AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson intro01:23 Meet Michael Neiberg, Chair of War Studies, US Army War College02:23 How does today’s pullback compare to the 20th century?05:52 How should investors handle less free global trade?09:13 How have politics and economics connected?11:38 Important lessons from early 20th-century tech12:59 How is governance changing?15:45 Does history show that communication is key?
linkCode=qsTake the AFIRE H2 2025 investor survey https://www.afire.org/survey/h22025invite/Register for the AFIRE Annual Member Meeting https://www.afire.org/events/amm25/Watch the AFIRE POV series of investor interviews https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOrtO-j6M9aS8Hr7DHeg562A8-HQrxi8oRead the latest articles from Summit Journal Issue #18 https://www.afire.org/summit/Access the episode webpage featuring links to audio-only platforms here:https://www.afire.org/podcast/202512cast/KEY MOMENTS00:00 AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson intro00:53 Meet Jonathan Boff, Professor of Military History, University of Birmingham01:46 What should investors focus on amid global conflicts?05:11 How do we connect politics and global economic interests?15:34 What can we expect from US-implemented tariffs?20:38 What should investors know about unpredictable international markets?26:35 How should investors go about trusting the Fed?32:43 What most get wrong about military conflicts’ economic impact
Despite geopolitical uncertainty and trade tensions, the US economy remains strong, says our latest guest on the AFIRE podcast: Moody’s Chief Economist Mark Zandi, the recipient of the Consensus Economics 2024 Forecast Accuracy Award. “So far, the data shows yellow flares everywhere,” Zandi observes. “But no red flares yet.” In conversation with AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson, Zandi shares his views on the way trade tensions will affect the broader economy, as well as US commercial real estate specifically. The pair also discuss a forthcoming Moody’s study on the housing shortage, hotspots in the US CRE market and how ESG and DEI discussions are evolving under the new administration. The conversation concludes with Zandi worrying that the dissolution of Fed independence could set the stage for much higher inflation. “I do think the economy is resilient,” Zandi says. “We should be able to navigate through and, you know, we could be in a very different place a year or two down the road.” Access the episode webpage featuring links to audio-only platforms here:https://www.afire.org/podcast/202511cast/
The US needs nearly 4 million homes. That’s a deficit that’s been decades in the making. Years’ worth of zoning restriction pile-ups, underbuilding, and policy interference have hindered the ability to plan, build, and maintain affordable homes across America.“We're putting requirements in place before we have the foundational infrastructure in place to provide it,” says CEO of Up for Growth Mike Kingsella during the latest episode of the AFIRE podcast.At the same time, the country’s energy infrastructure is straining to keep pace, not only with the increased demand in data centers to fuel AI, but also to supply energy at home.So to solve the affordability and energy problem, AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson and Kingsella discuss how to untangle the legacy decisions that got the U.S. where it is in housing, and how to prevent the same pattern in energy.
Neville Rhone, Jr. is the co-founder and managing partner at Arc Capital Partners, a leading institutional real estate owner and investment manager. Arc is focussed on converting mixed-use properties instead of tearing down and building new. Rhone also is someone who’s poised to find opportunities in challenging environments. So where are these opportunities hiding? ”Everything that we do is in the middle market,” says Rhone, who goes on to explain that the middle market is often overlooked. “Blackstone is not paying attention to it; Brookfield is not paying attention to it.” The middle market often is “too complicated for the smaller investors,” so they also miss out on great opportunities. In Neville Rhone, Jr.’s compelling conversation with AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson, the two men discuss where the best investment opportunities are hiding in 2025—and why a fresh perspective on investments in this upcoming cycle is so beneficial.Key Moments00:00 AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson intro.01:02 Branson introduces Neville Rhone, Jr. Managing Partner at Arc Capital Partners02:12 Where are the best opportunities for attainable housing?06:12 How does Arc approach infill urban areas and create more attainable market-rate housing?11:07 How does Arc encourage thinking about unconventional investment opportunities in a challenging environment?15:42 How does Rhone help investors understand that this middle-market approach is a wise, risk-adjusted approach?26:24 Why should building owners care about sustainability in their investment approach?29:43 Where are the opportunities hiding in 2025?
Brian Klinksiek thinks we’re turning a page to a new market in 2025. “Even with what’s happened with long interest rates, there’s so much other stuff,” says Klinksiek, the global head of research and strategy at LaSalle Investment Management. “We’ve got prices more in line with where bond markets are… we have valuations that have caught up with prices, the denominator effect that is resolved, you’ve got property market fundamentals improving for the beat-up sectors.” The new market makes real estate investing more complex, according to Klinksiek. The task in 2025 involves selecting from a more extensive breakfast menu of options, similar to that of a New York diner—so-called, Klinksiek says, because while there’s a lot of choice, some of them are a little dodgy, and you certainly don’t want all of them. Making the correct selections on where to invest is more difficult when more sectors are returning to investability. Take office, Klinksiek says. During the pandemic, the link broke down between office-using job creation and occupied square footage. “And what we see now is the beginning of it starting to reassert itself—the link is coming back.” Which means that Klinksiek expects people returning to office “will start to eat away at the mound of vacancies” in 2025. He also likes data centers in the short term, although he believes that innovation will limit the sector’s growth at some point in future. Listen or watch the episode on your favorite platform at:https://www.afire.org/podcast/202508cast/Key Moments00:00 AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson intro01:24 How should investors approach CRE trends in 2025?05:02 Will office surprise investors in 2025?08:52 Will data centres continue to be the star player in CRE in 2025 despite scarcity?
The next five years are expected to bring groundbreaking tech advancements in augmented (AR) and virtual (VR) reality. Real estate—a traditionally unhurried adopter of new tech—isn’t immune to this shift, and while this could bring about new revenue streams for property owners, it also creates potential liabilities. Are real estate owners prepared?To learn the answer, we consulted with Neil Mandt. In addition to being a speaker at the AFIRE Winter Conference, Mandt is a five-time Emmy winner and the founder & CEO of Digital Rights Management, a tech platform offering property owners risk analysis and licensing opportunities from digital media companies. Mandt warns real estate owners to start thinking about securing the digital rights of their property. "Buildings are not the only real estate in the world," Mandt says on this episode of the AFIRE podcast, signalling the approach of a new age for property owners as augmented and virtual reality applications become more prevalent through society. AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson sat down with Neil Mandt to discuss digital media rights licensing and what that could mean for real estate owners and investors.
In 2024 commercial real estate investors were confronted with tremendous changes. What’s the biggest change that will surprise us in 2025—and how should the investment community adjust to those changes? That’s just one of the topics we tackle in the latest episode of our podcast series talking with commercial real estate experts about the year ahead.Jim Costello is the Chief Economist for MSCI Real Assets—and someone who always has a measured and data-driven forecast of what’s going to happen in the US real estate market, especially as it pertains to cross-border investment.“If people are not taking a dispassionate point of view…and taking a full look at the range of potential changes, they’re going to be shocked and surprised,” explains Costello. How will the new administration’s policies affect trade? Tariffs? Tax policies? Will they decrease regulatory burdens? And how will that affect inflation? “Those are real concerns,” says Costello. “But any policy change can cut two ways… there are other things that other types of investors are excited about”—and both Branson and Costello describe them in detail in this special mini-episode of the AFIRE podcast. Other themes:What are the surprising bets Jim Costello would make in 2025? Why office could surprise us in the year aheadHow will migration patterns change in the US in 2025?
How will we get out of the problems in the office sector in the US? How will we solve the housing crisis? Will we see an escalating environment of global trade tensions getting in the way of cross-border investing? What do you do if you can’t count on dropping interest rates?Spencer Levy is the global client strategist and senior economic advisor at CBRE—and someone who’s never afraid to tell you what he thinks. In the latest mini-episode to post in our series about commercial real estate in 2025, he answers these questions and more.“I think the big thing is that for the last ten years, a lot of people in our business did a lot of successful, profitable deals because cap rates were compressing,” Levy says. “Cap rates have now expanded… so next year, and probably for the next several years, we’re going to see who are the really good real estate operators.”Other themes:- Why it’s going to be more of a sub-sub-market selection game- Why office will surprise us in 2025- Why appraisers and regulators need more love in 2025Watch the video or listen to the audio episode for answers.
Contrary to reports of the death of office, demand for certain classes of office space is coming back so strong that New York City developers are struggling to meet the demand.Melissa Román Burch is New York City Economic Development Corporation’s Chief Operating Officer, and says, “Office is making a comeback. We fundamentally do not have enough class A and A+ office space in New York City, and we have too much class B and C.”In fact, Burch says New York currently has 2.4 million square feet of office space under construction that will be delivered by 2026—and almost 80% of that space already is spoken for. “So, what we’re going to see really unlock for New York City in 2025 is continued investment into modernizing office space and delivering new,” explains Burch. “We need to do this because we know that New York City will continue to be powered by a very strong economy, excellent job growth, and a global center for work.”Other themes: - How sustainability plays a part in office resurgence - What class A and A+ buildings will look like in 2025- How class A and A+ buildings attract different usage patterns- How office can drive investor interest in underserved areasWatch the video or listen to the audio episode for answers.
We left 2024 expecting surprises from political change and geopolitical shifts. But according to Rebecca Rockey, Deputy Chief Economist and Global Head of Forecasting at Cushman & Wakefield, the actual surprise in store during the year ahead may be how little things change.For example, some anticipate a widespread sell off of distressed commercial real estate assets in 2025. But Rockey believes the pace will be much slower than many expect. Rather than a cliff event, she predicts a slow burn that continues well into 2026 and perhaps even into 2027.“I don’t think we will have a shortage of surprises out of DC,” says Rockey, who lives in the area. “But I think there are forces in motion that are going to play out next year, regardless of what’s happening in the policy environment.”“…specifically around the capital markets, which are a defining feature of this cycle for commercial real estate. We’ve clearly gone through some repricing, we’ve seen capital sources start to shift around in response to that, and as we move forward this year those shifts in capital sources will continue to play out—and I think those changes will be much more prolonged than just 2025.”Other themes:What shifts does Rockey expect in the capital markets?Will distressed deals tick up in the year ahead—and by how much?Where the best opportunities are hiding in 2025?Watch the video or listen to the audio episode for answers.
Our special New Year series provides themes to monitor in the year ahead for commercial real estate investors. This episode of the AFIRE Podcast features R. Byron Carlock Jr., PWC’s former US real estate leader and AFIRE’s current director of legal and tax, discussing the most important investment to make in 2025. AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson asks Carlock: You can make one bet in 2025—what is that investment you’ll make this year? What is it that commercial real estate investors need to worry about in 2025? Will 2025 be the year that regulators grow more comfortable with density in our cities? How should investors be thinking about the next five to ten years? Who will be the leaders in real estate investing over the next 10 years? What do you hope will happen for our built environments in 2025? As we look out at the year ahead—should we expect more surprises from the capital markets? What about politics? Geopolitics? Will we see more friction for cross-border investing—or less? Watch the video or listen to the audio episode for answers.
What are the markets that commercial real estate investors are focused on in 2025? Will markets even matter this year? And which markets are best positioned to outperform? Sabrina Unger is the managing director and the head of research and strategy at American Realty Advisors—and one of the people AFIRE turns to for nuanced commentary on what’s really going on in commercial real estate.“Market selection as a driver of relative over- or under-performance may actually be reduced relative to some of the other levers that we have to pull when it comes to making geographic selection within a sector,” says Unger. “When we look back over history . . . the dispersion between the best and worst multifamily markets—that dispersion is the widest during periods of adjustment.” So, Unger says, dispersions were widest during the 2008 global financial crisis, the supply surge in 2016 and during the pandemic. “But outside these periods, market fundamentals… tend to cluster much closer together.” Consequently, the market narrative may actually be disguising really strong sub-market opportunities. Which is why her team has implemented a new sub-market targeting strategy. Or, in her words, “There’s a way to take advantage of that arbitrage.”
A recent report from Cushman & Wakefield suggests that “urban doom loops” can be halted and reversed when investors, developers, and planners optimize the built environment for a balance of “live, work, and play” design suited to modern (and continually evolving) social tastes.https://www.afire.org/podcast/202413cast/In this episode of the AFIRE Podcast, Rebecca Rockey, deputy chief economist and global head of forecasting for Cushman & Wakefield joins AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson to discuss the report’s key findings.The report, “Reimagining Cities: Disrupting the Urban Doom Loop,” shows that an average US downtown has about 70% of its real estate devoted to work purposes. But the optimal pie chart for walkable urban places (WalkUPs) is far more mixed, with work environments accounting for just 42% of real estate, while 31% is for live purposes and 26% for play. Consequently, in this fascinating conversation focused on the reinvigoration of American cities after the pandemic, Rockey suggests that downtowns seeking to counteract the doom loop decrease the proportion of “work” and increase the amount of real estate devoted to live and play purposes – and that investors, developers, and planners can lead the charge.
Many of the challenges facing the US real estate market mirror those seen in the Asia-Pacific region.https://www.afire.org/podcast/202412cast/So as investors are planning for the rest of the year, it’s the perfect time to speak with Simon Treacy of Singapore’s CapitaLand Investment, which manages properties in more than 40 countries.Treacy is the CEO of CapitaLand’s Private Equity Real Estate, Real Assets division, and says “The world is pretty much synchronized now. The same discussions you’re having in the US—we’re having in most markets around Asia.”On tap: What are Treacy’s predictions for the rest of 2024? What’s in store for valuations? How will changing interest rates affect global property markets? And are we finally going to see a breakthrough from a sluggish market to something that’s a little more active?Plus: Lessons for the US market from an Asian perspective. “We are starting to see [that] we’re coming towards the end game of the interest rate cycle,” Treacy says. “And as a consequence of that, we’re just starting to see transactions click up a little bit more.”
How can affordable housing become a reality in cities like New York, whose current blueprint and zoning regulation is not easily suited to modern market-rate and affordable housing development?https://www.afire.org/podcast/202411cast/In our latest episode of the AFIRE podcast, CEO and host Gunnar Branson speaks with David Kramer, president of the Hudson Companies, a leading developer in NYC, about what it takes to build affordable housing in a city made for anything but.It’s a wide-ranging, entertaining conversation about the challenges of living and developing real estate in one of the most vibrant cities in the world—and America’s key “gateway” city. Kramer and Branson explore the tension between developer’s public profiles, and the realities of trying to build new projects in a sustainable way, while also nurturing a city that is hospitable to people from all walks of life. Kramer also takes down the common misconception that landlords determine rents. In fact, Kramer says that achieving housing affordability starts with increasing the number of units in a given market. “The solution . . . should not be chastising landlords and trying to limit rent increases—it should be increasing the supply.”With decades-worth of insider perspective and a whole host of entertaining analogies, Kramer’s interview provides a portrait of a New York developer doing his best to contribute to a city where people love to be—and what other cities can learn from this approach.
Forecasters are predicting another record-hot summer in North America. What’s hard to predict, though, is how environmental disasters will affect the real estate market around the country.https://www.afire.org/podcast/202409cast/Intense hurricanes, droughts and untamable wildfires are all playing roles in the increase of premiums—bringing insurance to the forefront of real estate investing like never before. …which is why we’re talking now, in the latest episode of the AFIRE Podcast, with president and general counsel of EDGE Fund Advisors, Tiffany Sanders. The firm had owned their 1.1 million square foot building in downtown Manhattan for five months before Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc on New York City in 2013, with tenants that included a major bank and two media companies. “[The property] was supposed to be a low-maintenance dividend-producing machine,” she explains.What followed Hurricane Sandy was a long and arduous process of recovering from the storm’s aftermath—pumping out water from the building, replacing electrical equipment that had been fully submerged, and repairing damaged interiors. “You can’t turn that stuff back on,” Sanders recalls. “You have to rebuild it.”For Sanders, the process yielded a better understanding of navigating insurance costs, preparing for the worst, and averting crises—all of which are things other investors may want to consider as we enter uncharted territory this summer. “We underestimate our vulnerability and we overestimate our readiness,” Sanders says.After four years and $10M in flooding restoration, Sanders recounts her experience dealing with an environmental disaster and redesigning the building to keep tenants afloat post-storm. She also shares what she says other building owners should know about planning for climate disasters in the years ahead.
Melissa Román Burch is New York City Economic Development Corporation’s chief operating officer—and one of the speakers at the AFIRE Annual Member Meeting in New York City this September.https://www.afire.org/podcast/202408cast/She says the five boroughs are home to more than a million buildings and unprecedented employment growth, with more private sector jobs than ever before. But the city’s housing crisis threatens to limit economic development.“For more than 40 years, job growth has outpaced housing growth,” Burch tells host Gunnar Branson, AFIRE CEO. “This is a multi-decade problem… that has reached an inflection point.” Rental-unit vacancy rate is down to a historic low, around 1.4%, she says, while at the same time, the office sector faces occupancy challenges, with more than 100 million square feet sitting empty. To address the housing crisis, the city has unveiled a housing moonshot—a goal to build 500,000 new units over the next decade, about double the typical rate of supply.Exactly how the city will go about achieving that, on some of the most expensive real estate in the world, is topic number one in our latest podcast episode, now streaming on all podcast platforms.
Mosaic Real Estate Investors CEO Ethan Penner, the latest guest on the AFIRE Podcast, doesn’t believe the office sector has hit bottom.https://www.afire.org/podcast/202407cast/Yet, at the beginning of 2024, Penner and his business partner Chad Carpenter announced a new US office-focused real estate finance company, Reven Office REIT, that intended to raise $1 billion to provide office owners and investors with bespoke financing solutions.“Office is a very complicated investment asset today,” Penner says. “It’s something that has inspired fear in investors, and rightly so. But what’s interesting is that when fear becomes pervasive, markets are abandoned. And of course, babies are thrown out with bathwater.”Penner and his partners are trying to find those “babies”—the office investments that continue to have upside, despite ongoing challenges for the sector. In this episode of the AFIRE podcast, Penner explains his sometimes counterintuitive take on the health of the office sector with podcast host and AFIRE CEO, Gunnar Branson. Aside from his enthusiasm for finding overlooked gems in the sector, Penner holds concerns about the effect of AI on the future of office. “The [threat] that looms largest, that’s on the horizon, that people are in denial about,” Penner says, “is the impact of AI on jobs, period. I think that there’s a real threat— technology happens faster than people can imagine.”
Commercial real estate in 2024 is dominated by uncertainty. Midway through 2024, nobody is buying at prices people are willing to sell for, and banks lack any incentive to bridge the gap between asking prices and active offers. https://www.afire.org/podcast/202406cast/…not to forget the looming question that AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson keeps coming back to:“How much will climate change cost us?”“Lots of firms had hoped that this was the year when we could move back in, in a big way,” says Mary Ludgin, a senior advisor and equity owner for Heitman, a global real estate investment management firm headquartered in Chicago. Now, Ludgin says, “we’re still playing the waiting game.” So where do we go from here? How does all this uncertainty get resolved? As one of the industry’s most insightful commentators, Ludgin provides her best insights on how the market will pan out over the rest of the year. Her most pointed guidance for investors is to weather this uncertainty by diversifying on as many fronts as possible, from property types to locations, climate change exposure, and geopolitical risk factors. “As somebody that’s been trying to predict the future for my 35-year career in this field,” Ludgin says, “I’ve realized that there are things you can predict. And then there are the black swans—and the only way to buttress against the black swan… is to diversify.”
With all of the other troubles currently affecting commercial real estate, should ESG still be a priority?https://www.afire.org/podcast/202405cast/Compliance with established environmental, social, and governance (ESG) became a critical measure of real estate performance over the past decade. But with the current slate of challenges faced by CRE—everything from high costs to building and infrastructure obsolescence—some investors are feeling inclined to put ESG lower on the punch list....but that would be a mistake, argues Patrick Richard, CEO of Stoneweg US, the US-based subsidiary of the Swiss real estate firm.In fact, in this new episode of the AFIRE Podcast, in conversation with AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson, Richard builds a compelling case that investors should prioritize ESG investments as a way to generate higher returns on investment—especially now. “One thing that sustainability does is protect the value of your assets,” explains Richard, who sees ESG prioritization as a way to decrease risk and increase revenue—critical differentiators in the current real estate market. Richard explains how investing in climate resilience can decrease insurance premiums and lender interest rates, currently significant cost centers affecting pro formas. By investing with an ESG mindset, despite some current external financial or philosophical pressures, Richard says: “Not only are you protecting your assets, but you’re creating value at the same time."
Affordable housing may be the most important issue facing the commercial real estate industry today. Statistics show a shortage of more than seven million homes in the US alone.https://www.afire.org/podcast/202404cast/More than half a million people are experiencing homelessness, and high interest rates and a growing population are making housing more expensive for more people.So—how do we solve the problem?What options are available to those of us who are investors, developers, builders, owners, and operators?To get some answers on the current housing situation—and future-focused solutions—AFIRE CEO and podcast host Gunnar Branson recently sat down with Paul Bernard, president and CEO of Affordable Homes & Communities, a nonprofit developer with a focus on housing creation in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC.Bernard argues that the housing crisis is partly caused by barriers to new construction, leading to high homelessness rates, high housing costs and insufficient supply. Affordable housing is not a commodity, Bernard says. Instead, it’s an asset class where developers and investors can follow concrete steps to alleviate housing availability issues and still find returns. According to Bernard, building more affordable developments requires an all-hands-on-deck approach, starting with a new narrative that will change public opinion of affordable housing, tax credits and renewed, innovative, problem-solving partnerships with nonprofits, for-profits and the public sector.
Many leaders believe this is the key to becoming fully immune to all future risks—but evading risk forever is just unrealistic.Risk plays a big part in commercial real estate. To thrive, it’s crucial to adopt a proactive approach to manage risks effectively.So how can commercial real estate investors thrive in a time of such incredible volatility, change and blindness? How do we thrive amid constant uncertainty and exposure to risk?On this new episode of the AFIRE Podcast, AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson sits down with General Stan McChrystal (Ret.), CEO and Chairman of the McChrystal Group, to discuss the risks facing investors during this time of heightened uncertainty in commercial real estate.As a retired four-star general in the US Army, General McChrystal translates his military training to educate leaders in commercial real estate on how to employ a proactive approach to managing risks instead of steering clear of possible failures.There’s this “unwillingness to be realistic about risk,” says McChrystal. “As a consequence, when you try to mitigate risk to zero, it takes so long that you’ve priced yourself out of the option.”In this riveting conversation about risk, General McChrystal walks us through what’s considered effective communication, how avoiding mistakes amounts to the first blunder, and how to fight back against our inclination to avoid risk.https://www.afire.org/podcast/202403cast
Technology can be enormously disruptive to commercial real estate. Remote work is responsible for the global devaluation of office properties. Artificial intelligence (AI) is already changing the way we live and work. So what will be the effect of AI on institutional investment strategies?https://www.afire.org/podcast/202402cast/To get at some answers, AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson talked to one of his favorite futurist investors, Jeffrey Kanne, president and CEO of National Real Estate Advisors, an AFIRE member firm and investment manager specializing in a build-to-core strategy, developing and managing large-scale, urban commercial and multifamily projects for its institutional client accounts. “The advent of AI as a technological tool is going to greatly increase the rate of change,” Kanne tells Branson. “I’m very nervous about where you can place money and think it’s safe.” The best opportunity for investment, Kanne believes, is in data centers that provide consistent power and temperature-controlled environments for the Googles, OpenAIs and Microsofts of the world. With that in mind, Kanne and Branson discuss how investors can enter the data center market. “It’s not rocket science,” Kanne says, while outlining potential pitfalls and barriers to entry for new operators. “It’s incumbent on all of us as investors to think about what the world will be like in five years, ten years, fifteen years,” Kanne says. “When I look ahead, data centers are a good place to focus on.”
Cognitive dissonance abounds in commercial real estate. On the one hand, the Fed is citing strong employment figures and predicting a soft landing. https://www.afire.org/podcast/202401cast/And yet, the commercial real estate industry is navigating serious issues in the office sector.Will office distress trigger bank failures? Will those bank failures affect the broader economy? When will interest rates go down? And when they do, will the Fed cut enough to benefit commercial real estate? In his conversation with AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson, Moody’s Analytics Chief Economist Mark Zandi sounds off on all these topics and more. “If I was at the Fed, I would argue: let’s cut rates now,” Zandi says. “Obviously there’s a lot of uncertainty, but I think the most likely scenario is June.” Plus: Zandi talks AI, China and other geopolitical risks, and how he expects the upcoming US election will affect market volatility. Listen now on your favorite podcast platform, or watch on the AFIRE YouTube channel.
On the tail end of the hottest year on human record, it’s clear that climate change is already here—and not slowing down. In the years ahead, the effects of climate change will pose real hardships for billions of people around the world.The challenge of climate change is clear, especially for real estate, as explained in the first of this special two-part series. Now, in this second and final entry of the latest AFIRE Podcast—inspired by the special climate change section featured in the most recent issue of AFIRE’s award-winning Summit Journal, and sponsored by the global ESG consultancy, AccountAbility—AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson and Summit Journal Editor-in-Chief Benjamin van Loon propose that climate change can also represent opportunity for forward-thinking investors.Climate migration will require new housing in resilient geographies, creating demand for fast and efficient construction methods. Extreme weather and other disasters will highlight the need for more robust building techniques. And an historically hotter world also could usher in carbon markets that use Web 3.0 to better reflect the actual cost of assets that contribute to global warming.(Watch the video version of this episode on the AFIRE YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_Hxizapwf0&ab_channel=AFIRE)Featuring interviews with:Jacques Gordon, Executive in Residence, MIT Center for Real EstateBob Geiger, Executive Director, Partner Engineering & ScienceParag Khanna, Founder and CEO, Climate AlphaZhengzhen Tan, Research Scientist, MIT Center for Real Estate
The year 2023 has been the hottest year in recent record—and it will likely be the coldest year for the rest of our lives. In the face of these record-breaking numbers and climate events, 2023 also proved to be a year that real estate investors lead the charge in confronting the constantly evolving challenges of climate change—including insurance rate hikes, migration and population changes, and the irrational implications derived from “the tragedy of the horizon.” In this, the first of a special two-part episode—inspired by the special climate change section featured in the most recent issue of AFIRE’s award-winning Summit Journal, and sponsored by the global ESG consultancy, AccountAbility—AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson and Summit Journal Editor-in-Chief Benjamin van Loon take viewers and listeners through a conversation with the industry’s top thought leaders to explore how investors can prepare for the impending intersection of climate change, global investment, and the future of real estate.(Watch the video version of this episode on the AFIRE YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWYO08tKnZA&ab_channel=AFIRE)Featuring interviews with (in order):Bob Geiger, Executive Director, Partner Engineering & ScienceHans Nordby, Head of Research and Analytics, Lionstone InvestmentsJacques Gordon, Executive in Residence, MIT Center for Real EstateParag Khanna, Founder and CEO, Climate Alpha
Despite the overwrought headlines and apocalyptic economic forecasts, office buildings still matter. At the same time, the use of office is changing and an increasing need for sustainability requires all office owners and developers to alter their approach.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/202311cast/
According to Anthony Malkin of Empire State Realty Trust, the altered approach won’t be easy or business-as-usual, but there is a compelling future.
Office buildings matter, including the ones that are already built. The use of office is changing dramatically, and office owners are now required to alter their approach to the business. Sustainability and decreasing carbon is now a given. Flexibility for tenants no longer just part of a wish list.
Anthony Malkin, President, Chairman, and CEO of Empire State Realty Trust, joins the AFIRE Podcast to discuss how, despite the overwrought headlines and challenge of changing existing office buildings to fit the times there is a compelling future, even if it isn’t easy or business-as-usual. As Malkin explains, if you can make it with the century-old Empire State Building, you can make it anywhere.
Every headline suggest that our cities are in serious trouble. How will that impact real estate investors, what can be done about it, and what is the future of our cities?
https://www.afire.org/podcast/202310cast/
In a recent op-ed for the New York Times, Ed Glaeser—the Fred & Eleanor Glimp Professor of Economics and Chair of the Department of Economics at Harvard University—wrote of the future of New York following the pandemic, stating: “The economic future of the city that never sleeps depends on embracing this shift from vocation to recreation and ensuring that New Yorkers with a wide range of talents want to spend their nights downtown, even if they are spending their days on Zoom. We are witnessing the dawn of a new kind of urban area: the Playground City.”
Glaeser, the author of New York Times best-selling books Triumph of the City and Survival of the City, recently down with AFIRE Podcast host Gunnar Branson to discuss how the state of cities in America has changed dramatically and what leaders need to do now to face and overcome the challenges of today.
A range of fundamental change is forcing real estate investors to closely examine how, where, and why they are investing. The change is not complete and investors have to learn how to adapt even as they don’t have a clear formula for how it might be done.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/202309cast/
On this episode of the AFIRE Podcast, Mandi Wedin, Founder and CEO of Feroce Real Estate Advisors, draws on her experience growing up in Alaska to help investors learn a “frontier mentality” to navigate and thrive in an unpredictable environment.
She sat down on May 5, 2023 with AFIRE CEO and podcast host Gunnar Branson to explore how leaders in real estate can surf the waves of change coming from ESG, Demographics, AI, and the Metaverse. Not unlike dealing with bears in the wild, preparation, flexibility, and acceptance are crucial to surviving and thriving the challenges to come.
Hans Nordby, the Head of Analytics and Research for Lionstone Investments, explains how demographic changes are transforming the construction, location, and value of commercial real estate across the board.https://www.afire.org/podcast/202308cast/The challenges of inflation, interest rates, and back to the office can be overwhelming, but changing demographic forces may be the biggest story of our time.How will downtowns like San Francisco, Chicago, and Washington, DC recover from their considerable challenges? What will become of the preponderance of obsolete office buildings? How will people house themselves? It’s all changing in real time—and so is what people want.According to Nordby, mixed-use will generally outperform—because that’s what people want. He sat down on May 4, 2023 with AFIRE CEO and podcast host Gunnar Branson to discuss how real estate will navigate the waves of demographic change in the years ahead.
Matt Pomeroy, Director of Valuation, Reporting, and Analytics for Chatham Financial, discusses the challenge of determining accurate valuations when the market is essentially frozen in place. Without comparable trades, how can investors know what they have?https://www.afire.org/podcast/202307cast/Fast rising interest rates and fast shrinking demand for office space is a significant challenge for real estate portfolios. Bid/ask spreads have widened to the point that only the most distressed sales can take place. Valuation of real estate values has always depended on comparable trades but what happens when there are almost no trades?Public real estate markets suggest that values have dropped by more than 20%, but in private markets, it is difficult to determine exactly what a portfolio may be worth at this point in time. What is an investor to do then, besides wait?According to Matt Pomeroy, Director of Valuation, Reporting, and Analytics for Chatham Financial, it’s “ill-advised” to simply do nothing.“Pomeroy sat down on April 11, 2023 with AFIRE CEO and podcast host Gunnar Branson to discuss how the industry can find new and better ways to adjust values without comparable transactions.
Scott Rechler, CEO of RXR Realty and Board Member of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, discusses how 20% of extant office buildings may now be obsolete in the post-COVID era and how investors can transition to a new “regime” of real estate investing.https://www.afire.org/podcast/202306cast/Real estate is going through a significant transition beyond the usual ups and downs of the economic cycle. The risks are changing. The opportunities are changing. And office buildings in particular—historically favored by institutional investors looking for safe, long-term investments—are changing, too.When it comes to office: How can investors transition their investment asset management strategy to cross the chasm from where we were just a few years ago to where we will be over the next decade?Scott Rechler, CEO of RXR Realty and Board Member of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, sat down in April 2023 with AFIRE CEO and podcast host Gunnar Branson to talk about how he is working through his own portfolio to find ways to meet the future on its own terms.Depending on the asset, Rechler says, everything from conversion to disposition must be considered, and whether an office remains an office, or becomes something else altogether, crossing the chasm to the future will not be easy. But success will start with transparency and meaningful leadership.
Bill Ferguson, President and Carrie Nowicki, COO of the Ferguson Charitable Foundation Centers for Leadership Excellence, discuss how real estate can bring an entire generation of racially and ethnically diverse students into the industry.https://www.afire.org/podcast/202305cast/The Centers for Leadership Excellence (CLE), sponsored by the Ferguson Charitable Foundation, has developed partnerships with fourteen colleges nationwide to provide scholarships, mentoring, and internships while developing real estate related curriculums in those colleges.The real estate industry as it stands today is not as diverse as it could be, and companies are missing out on powerful potential talent. The program is focused on historically black colleges and universities as well as those with highly diverse student bodies such as Howard University, University of Virginia, Baruch College, and Arizona State University.Bill Ferguson, President, and Carrie Nowicki, COO, of the Centers for Leadership Excellence sat down in March 2023 with AFIRE CEO and podcast host Gunnar Branson, discussing their conviction that diversity in real estate is essential for the future.
Parag Khanna, Founder & CEO of Climate Alpha and international bestselling author of seven books, including Move and Connectography, discusses how climate change, migration, and sophisticated data science can and should change investment strategy.https://www.afire.org/podcast/202304cast/Beyond the immediate crisis of inflation, interest rate increases, and even bank failures, are far more impactful threats to investment strategy. Where people are going thanks to increasing climate pressures will impact asset values not just in the far future but within the timeline of existing investments. What should investors do to better invest and better protect their existing portfolios?Parag Khanna, Founder and CEO of Climate Alpha, an AI-powered analytics platform that drives future-proof real estate strategies, recently with AFIRE CEO and podcast host Gunnar Branson to discuss how climate change, migration, and sophisticated data science can—and should—change investment strategy for years to come, as the world now faces some of the most drastic climate challenges seen in this epoch.
Ethan Penner, CEO of Mosaic Real Estate Investors, reflects on the current landscape of real estate dislocation and how investors need to change their understanding of risks and opportunities.https://www.afire.org/podcast/202303cast/How should I invest now—in this market?Will distress create meaningful discounts?If I buy now, am I catching a falling knife?Is the conservative deal of the past still conservative today?As real estate investors, we all face an interesting, uncertain—and perhaps even weird—real estate market right now, and there are a lot of questions.Ethan Penner, CEO of Mosaic Real Estate Investors, sat down on March 7, 2023 with AFIRE CEO and podcast host Gunnar Branson, challenging conventional thinking based on what has worked on the past—and presenting practical insights about how investors can avoid thinking mistakes and navigate the more challenging aspects of the current (and coming) real estate cycle.
Michael Mandel, Co-Founder and CEO of CompStak, a marketplace for CRE data, discusses how the use of data is (and is not) changing the practice of global investing.https://www.afire.org/podcast/202302cast/When it comes to big data, alternative data sets, data science, and analytics—how do we know if real estate investors approaching new data resources in the right way? How is data changing the game and how can organizations make better use of it? Can we better understand the value of any given asset by counting the number of trees nearby? Can that replace the data fundamentals around leasing and sales that we have relied on for decades? Or is this simply an expansion of augmentation of what we already do?Michael Mandel, Co-Founder and CEO of CompStak, sat down in January 2023 with AFIRE CEO and podcast host Gunnar Branson to talk about how investors need to combine a strong grasp of fundamental data with the more exotic new sources of insight coming to market. How should investors better discern the quality and the meaning of data as they compete in a fast moving and volatile real estate landscape? Listen now for more insights.
Jim Costello, Chief Economist for MSCI Real Estate, discusses the state of real estate investing in 2023 and the challenges of a very different economic climate.https://www.afire.org/podcast/ep202301/Optimism seems to be rising in real estate firms despite the considerable economic and geopolitical headwinds investors face in 2023, but is that justified? Even if the Federal Reserve lets up in the next few months, it is difficult to believe that the world will return to “normal” this year.Jim Costello, Chief Economist for MSCI Real Estate, sat down on February 2, 2023 with AFIRE CEO and podcast host Gunnar Branson to talk about how the environment investors face in 2023 is fundamentally different than 2022. COVID may be less of an issue, but serious challenges remain, whether it’s inflation, supply chain issues, dramatic change in the use of office properties, and housing shortages—2023 will not be an easy ride. How will climate change affect the continued growth of the sun belt? What kind of distress are we likely to see? What are the opportunities and what are the costs?
While the real estate industry has long understood the need for data, it still struggles with connecting information to decision making. New strides in data science could change that.https://www.afire.org/podcast/202222cast/According to Brian Biggs, Vice President of Research for Grosvenor Americas, advances in data availability and data science techniques are bringing new transparency to historically opaque real estate markets.On this episode of the AFIRE Podcast, recorded in November 2022, Biggs joins podcast host and AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson to talk about how a data science approach to real estate analysis can reveal fundamental relationships between building-specific features, amenities in the built environment, sociodemographic factors, and real estate pricing at a scale previously unthinkable.
AFIRE CEO and podcast host Gunnar Branson recently sat down with Jacques Gordon of LaSalle Investment Management at a partner event for Informa’s Global Property Market Forum for a candid conversation about the future of global real estate investment.https://www.afire.org/podcast/202221cast/As Global Strategist for LaSalle, Gordon has a long tenure of leadership and strategy for global institutional investment. This discussion, hosted by LaSalle and designed for institutional investors, will likely be one of Gordon’s last public conversations before he retires from LaSalle in January 2023 to become the first “Executive-in-Residence” at MIT beginning in Spring 2023.The wide-ranging conversation, a special year-end episode of the AFIRE Podcast cast, covers the current state of the real estate market and future strategies as the global real estate investment industry rewrites some of its best practices for the years ahead.“Real estate isn’t something you do quarter-by-quarter,” Gordon says. “It generally is a five- to ten-year bet.” In this context, smart money wins, especially as many countries move to a highly-leveraged approach to cash flows.
Neil Shearing, Group Chief Economist for Capital Economics, joins the AFIRE Podcast with Gunnar Branson to talk about how global economics are “resetting” CRE markets.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/202220cast/
The most recent quarter of 2022 has been a constant process of downgraded expectations for commercial real estate investors and managers. War in Europe, persistent inflation, and supply chain challenges are only part of a perfect storm that is totally disrupting the global balance of the past 3 decades. If the volatility of the present continues, what global forces will investment leaders need to track for the months ahead?
Neil Shearing, Group Chief Economist for Capital Economics, an independent economic research business based in London, sat down in November 2022 with AFIRE CEO and podcast host Gunnar Branson to discuss his latest insights on how global economics are forcing a reset of CRE markets.
(Featuring Michael Cooper, President, Dream Unlimited)
https://www.afire.org/podcast/202219cast/
The practice and expectations of investing across all industries is undergoing major upheaval and the key to stability will mean looking beyond profit for profit’s sake.
While most think of disruption as an effect of technological change, this one is a product of environmental and social concerns. In the face of imminent threats from climate change, income inequality, and increasingly unaffordable housing, real estate investors and developers are being forced to think beyond mere profit to the roles their organizations can play in addressing these challenges.
In this episode, Michael Cooper, President and Chief Responsible Officer of Dream Unlimited, joins AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson on the AFIRE Podcast to discuss impact investing and how it can provide a disruption-proof strategy. Findings are based on the recent article Mr. Cooper wrote for AFIRE Summit Journal.
(Featuring Brian Klinksiek, Global Head of Research and Strategy for LaSalle Investment Management)
https://www.afire.org/podcast/202218cast/
Across the entire institutional investment industry right now, the notion of fear—stated or implied—is at the center of how we discuss the future. The question for investors is: is this fear grounded in reality, or response?
In this two-part episode, Brian Klinksiek, incoming Global Head of Research and Strategy for LaSalle Investment Management, joins AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson on the AFIRE Podcast to find some answers.
(Featuring Brian Klinksiek, Global Head of Research and Strategy for LaSalle Investment Management)
www.afire.org/podcast/202218cast/
Across the entire institutional investment industry right now, the notion of fear—stated or implied—is at the center of how we discuss the future. The question for investors is: is this fear grounded in reality, or response?
In this two-part episode, Brian Klinksiek, incoming Global Head of Research and Strategy for LaSalle Investment Management, joins AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson on the AFIRE Podcast to find some answers.
Jamie Kingsley (NCREIF and PREA) and Constantin Sorlescu (INREV) join the AFIRE Podcast to discuss how global data standards can improve real estate investing in the future—and how doing the hard-but-necessary work of standardization can improve operations and strategy right now.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/202217/
For several years, institutional real estate investors have worked together to create better standards for the industry. How we define things like NOI, ROI, and cap rates matter no matter where in the world an investment is made, and yet different companies and even different people within those companies can often define those terms differently.
Getting an industry of entrepreneurs and institutions around the world to agree is not easy and progress can seem glacially slow. But there is value in the journey.
Jamie Kingsley, Data Governance and Reporting Standards Director for NCREIF and PREA, and Constantin Sorlescu, Director of Professional Standards for INREV, sat down with AFIRE CEO and podcast host Gunnar Branson in September 2022 to discuss how global data standards could transform real estate for good, and for better.
AFIRE recently made our annual return to Munich, Germany, for EXPO REAL, the largest trade fair for real estate and investment in Europe since its formation in 1998.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/exporeal2022/
As the world continues to recover from COVID and adjust for broad global uncertainty, we sat down with several members to get an outlook on global investment as it stands right now.
FEATURING:
Audrey Klein, Chair of the ESG Committee, Planet Smart City Audrey Klein has held Head of Fundraising roles at several firms but is best known for starting the European business out of London for the Park Hill Real Estate Group, a Division of Blackstone. Prior to joining Park Hill, she ran her own business marketing alternative asset funds across all asset classes to European investors comprised of pension funds, banks, family offices. She serves as the ESG Chair for SFO Capital and Planet Smart City.
Will McIntosh, Global Head of Research, USAA Real Estate Will McIntosh serves as Global Head of Research for USAA Real Estate. Will is responsible for developing the commercial real estate investment strategy and manages the firm’s global research platform that informs and enhances the real estate investment process. He is a member of the firm’s Investment Committee.
Joao Nuno Madeira de Andrade, Board Member, Fidelidade Property Joao Andrade serves as board member for Fidelidade Property, which is part of Fidelidade, a Portuguese insurance company that was established in the early nineteenth century, headquartered in Lisbon. Fidelidade is a subsidiary of Fosun International and is a leader in the domestic Portuguese market, providing life and non-life products for both individuals and companies.
Tedd Willcocks, President and CEO, Triovest Ted Willcocks is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Triovest. Ted brings more than 25 years of diverse international experience in commercial real estate, having held a series of increasingly senior positions with CBRE, Brookfield Properties, and most recently, Manulife. For the last several years, he led the development and implementation of the real estate strategy for Manulife Investment Management, overseeing portfolio management, asset management and development in Canada, the United States, Australia and Asia, accelerating the growth of its Private Markets business.
(Featuring Robert Seldin of Madison Highland Live/Work Lofts)
https://www.afire.org/podcast/202215seldin/
Mobile information technology has upended US land use regulation, and the ramifications of this technological upheaval are finally coming into view.
Everyone in real estate complains about zoning laws. Depending on the municipality, it can determine the success or failure of any project, and quite often, the zoning seems to be completely opposed to the way people want to work, live, and play. How can real estate and zoning be flexible enough to meet the needs of a post-COVID population in cities that were changing long before the pandemic?
Rob Seldin, Managing Principal at Madison Highland Live Work Lofts, sat down with AFIRE CEO and podcast host Gunnar Branson on September 7, 2022 to discuss how a flexible approach to office and residential may be a direction for adaptive re-use to solve for an uncertain and fast changing future.
Based on the recent article Mr. Seldin wrote for AFIRE Summit Journal, he is unlocking new drivers for asset performance.
(Featuring Martha Peyton, PhD, CRE, Managing Director and Global Head, Real Assets Research, Aegon Asset Management)
https://www.afire.org/podcast/202214peyton/
US garden apartment investments are offering outsized return potential—but access remains a challenge.
The garden apartment subtype of the apartment sector is producing very encouraging total returns for property investors, beating all sector returns outside of industrial. The outperformance of garden apartments prevailed throughout 2021, but over the twenty-year average as well.
However, such properties have also not traditionally been held by institutional investors, which have historically focused more of their apartment holdings on high-rise properties where new construction is more plentiful.
On this episode of the AFIRE Podcast, recorded July 13, 2022, Martha Peyton, Managing Director of Real Assets Applied Research at Aegon Asset Management sat down with AFIRE CEO and podcast host Gunnar Branson to discuss her recent Summit Journal article to talk about the performance and the unique challenges of garden apartments.
(Episode 2022.13: Featuring Malcolm Johnson, CEO, Langdon Park Capital)
https://www.afire.org/podcast/malcolmjohnson/
Malcolm Johnson, CEO of Langdon Park Capital, believes true affordability is possible (even with the considerable obstacles present in the current business environment)—and that affordable strategies may be investors’ strongest emerging opportunity for core markets in the US.
The demand for affordable housing is climbing every day while the supply is not keeping pace. Reasons for the dearth of affordable housing range from municipal zoning and regulatory policies to NIMBYism and fractured supply chains—but despite these factors, Johnson makes the case for how it is still possible to invest in and create solid affordable housing and deliver consistent returns.
In this episode of the AFIRE Podcast, recorded on July 19, 2022, former professional football player-turned-real estate leader Malcolm Johnson sat down with AFIRE CEO and podcast host Gunnar Branson to talk about the new future of affordable housing and investment in the US.
(Featuring Charlotte Kang, National Hotels and Hospitality Valuation and Advisory Leader; and Emily Chadwick, Lead Risk Adviser and Head of ESG & Risk; JLL)
https://www.afire.org/podcast/lodgingleads202212/
As a labor-intensive and service-oriented asset class, hospitality is uniquely positioned to be a leader in advancing sustainability goals for investors.
Speaking for JLL, Charlotte Kang, National Hotels and Hospitality Valuation and Advisory Leader and Emily Chadwick, Lead Risk Adviser and Head of ESG & Risk, discuss how ESG practices in the hospitality sector can be instructive for all asset classes.
The hospitality sector has faced an incredible set of challenges with global COVID shutdowns and a fast return to travel over the last two years. Despite the challenges, hospitality has also taken a lead in ESG best practices, operations, construction, and retrofits. Are there lessons here for multifamily and office investors to learn?
As a follow-up to their Summit Journal article, “Lodging Takes the Lead,” Kang and Chadwick, sat down on July 1, 2022 with AFIRE CEO and podcast host Gunnar Branson to talk about the transformation of hospitality and the ESG challenges every commercial property faces today.
(Featuring Jeffrey Kanne, President & CEO, National Real Estate Advisors)
https://www.afire.org/podcast/jeffreykanne/
Jeffrey Kanne, President and CEO of National Real Estate Advisors and Co-Author of the white paper, “Climate Change is Generating a Tech Revolution,” discusses how technology developed to combat climate change will transform the built environment as well.
Climate change has become more immediate and dire than ever before, but as Albert Einstein once said, “in the middle of difficulty lies opportunity”.
What if all the work to decrease carbon and adapt to a changing climate creates a better built environment as well?
In this two-part podcast recorded 30 June 2022, Jeffrey Kanne, President and CEO of National Real Estate Advisors, sat down with AFIRE CEO and podcast host Gunnar Branson to talk about real estate’s new opportunities to come out of new climate tech. As Kanne says, it may be time for us “…to imagine a world magnificently transformed by the technologies that are created to fight climate change.”
(Featuring Jeffrey Kanne, President & CEO, National Real Estate Advisors)
https://www.afire.org/podcast/jeffreykanne/
Jeffrey Kanne, President and CEO of National Real Estate Advisors and Co-Author of the white paper, “Climate Change is Generating a Tech Revolution,” discusses how technology developed to combat climate change will transform the built environment as well.
Climate change has become more immediate and dire than ever before, but as Albert Einstein once said, “in the middle of difficulty lies opportunity”.
What if all the work to decrease carbon and adapt to a changing climate creates a better built environment as well?
In this two-part podcast recorded 30 June 2022, Jeffrey Kanne, President and CEO of National Real Estate Advisors, sat down with AFIRE CEO and podcast host Gunnar Branson to talk about real estate’s new opportunities to come out of new climate tech. As Kanne says, it may be time for us “…to imagine a world magnificently transformed by the technologies that are created to fight climate change.”
(Featuring Max LaVictoire, Principal, Hodes Weill & Associates.)
https://www.afire.org/podcast/carryon202210/
While continuation vehicles were once viewed as a signal of delay or failure, market sentiment is rapidly changing.
The rules are changing, faster and more frequently than before. Flexibility is more important than ever, as is the ability to adapt strategic plans. An investor’s strategic plan from five years ago may not be optimized for today’s reality
Over the past few years and with increasing frequency, real estate investment managers and their investors have been exploring ways to recapitalize opportunistic or value-add investments with longer-term (and often lower cost) capital.
While continuation vehicles were once viewed in a negative light, due to the potential conflicts between GP and LP interests, or to the tendency for such vehicles to be utilized only when there had been a failure or delay in accomplishing a fund’s objectives, market sentiment is rapidly changing.
Max LaVictoire, Principal at Hodes Weill & Associates responsible for capital raising and advisory practices, sat down with AFIRE CEO and podcast host Gunnar Branson to discuss his recent article in AFIRE’s Summit Journal about how secondary offerings for existing funds have evolved from a defensive move to a more strategic option for managers and investors.
(Featuring Megan Walters, PhD, Global Head of Research, Allianz Real Estate)
https://www.afire.org/podcast/citieswork202209/
Megan Walters, PhD, Global Head of Research for Allianz Real Estate, shares her latest insights on European office markets that are well positioned for growth. According to her recent article in AFIRE’s Summit Journal, the best cities are not always the obvious choice.
The world and the way we work has radically changed over the past few years. Working from home has gone from a niche practice to a key part of many firms’ future strategies; however, offices will likely remain crucial for collaboration, training, and maintaining corporate culture. Changing practices will fuel continuing bifurcation between prime and secondary offices, and the location and quality of assets will be more important than ever. The pandemic has also accelerated existing structural trends, in particular the rise of the tech sector.
After more than two years of COVID, investors in commercial office properties continue to look for clarity around the future of different markets. Based on a broad range of data sources, Megan Walters and her colleagues at Allianz Real Estate have some fascinating insights on the top cities in Europe for office investment.
Megan Walters, PhD, Global Head of Research for Allianz Real Estate, sat down in May 2022 with AFIRE CEO and podcast host Gunnar Branson to discuss her latest insights on European office markets that are well positioned for growth.
The Great Lockdown led to many fears that urban living may become a thing of the past. Luckily, current migration patterns tell a different story.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/citywins202208/
The global response to the corona virus was an unprecedented time of transition and change. Among those changes were global migration patterns. As the next two years wore on, populations would shift drastically, as did various markets, but one thing remained the same. Despite any economic downturns or global pandemics, people always returned to cities. Even as some cities fall out of popularity, others rise to replace them.
According to Parag Khanna, founder of FutureMap, an AI software that uses vast amounts of migration data to predict human movements up to the year 2040, cities will always be the focus of humanity's future. In other words: the city always wins.
The Great Lockdown led to many fears that urban living may become a thing of the past. Luckily, current migration patterns tell a different story.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/citywins202208/
The global response to the corona virus was an unprecedented time of transition and change. Among those changes were global migration patterns. As the next two years wore on, populations would shift drastically, as did various markets, but one thing remained the same. Despite any economic downturns or global pandemics, people always returned to cities. Even as some cities fall out of popularity, others rise to replace them.
According to Parag Khanna, founder of FutureMap, an AI software that uses vast amounts of migration data to predict human movements up to the year 2040, cities will always be the focus of humanity's future. In other words: the city always wins.
We are all invested in the cities, assets, and infrastructure of tomorrow, even if we might not live to see the ten largest cities in 2100. But understanding climate change can get us closer.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/climatefuture202207/
Can you guess what the ten most populated US cities were in the year 2000?
New York and Los Angeles would be safe bets and come without hesitation. A moment’s pause, and Chicago would come to mind. Those who follow cities might remember that San Francisco and San Jose are separate in most data; skip them and reason that Houston and Philadelphia came next. The rest of the top ten would hardly surprise: Phoenix, San Diego, Dallas, and San Antonio all were warm and with large job markets. Detroit in tenth, was a city in decline but still servicing a healthy domestic auto industry.
In this episode of the AFIRE Podcast, Rajeev Ranade, Partner at Climate Core Capital, and Owen Woolcock, Partner at Climate Core Capital, discuss their recent Summit Journal article about the future of climate change and its effects on real estate.
We are all invested in the cities, assets, and infrastructure of tomorrow, even if we might not live to see the ten largest cities in 2100. But understanding climate change can get us closer.
www.afire.org/podcast/climatefuture202207/
Can you guess what the ten most populated US cities were in the year 2000?
New York and Los Angeles would be safe bets and come without hesitation. A moment’s pause, and Chicago would come to mind. Those who follow cities might remember that San Francisco and San Jose are separate in most data; skip them and reason that Houston and Philadelphia came next. The rest of the top ten would hardly surprise: Phoenix, San Diego, Dallas, and San Antonio all were warm and with large job markets. Detroit in tenth, was a city in decline but still servicing a healthy domestic auto industry.
In this episode of the AFIRE Podcast, Rajeev Ranade, Partner at Climate Core Capital, and Owen Woolcock, Partner at Climate Core Capital, discuss their recent Summit Journal article about the future of climate change and its effects on real estate.
Daniele Russolillo, COO of Planet Smart City, explains how his company is building affordable communities in India, Brazil, Italy, and the U.S. while delivering high levels of sustainability, technology, and community support for their tenants—all the while delivering solid returns for investors.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/buildit202206/
The demand for affordable housing around the world is not disputed, but the supply is another matter. Investors and developers have long been stymied by regulations as well as the costs of new development at times like these. However, where there is demand, there is always a way forward. Planet Smart City is one of a handful of innovative groups that are delivering thousands of new affordable units. They also happen to be doing it at scale around the world.
According to Mr. Russolillo, affordable housing is the most important investment we can make. After listening to this podcast, you may agree.
(Featuring Warren Wachsberger, CEO, AECOM Capital)
https://www.afire.org/podcast/diversifyingdigital202205/
As investors look for sustainable sources of inflation-protected yield, real estate investment is increasingly blurring into a wider range of “digital” real asset investment strategies.
Inclusive of physical broadband networks (fiber or wireless), small cell and distributed antenna system (DAS) networks, and data centers, digital real estate shares many of the same attributes as traditional real estate, and in many cases, it benefits from even greater positive tailwinds.
At its core, the development of digital real estate shares many of the same economic characteristics as traditional real estate development: You are building a physical asset that is monetized by leasing out a finite amount of built capacity, and whose value depends in large part on lease term, tenant credit, and the stability and growth profile of the underlying cash flows. And as with traditional real estate, investors can choose between a range of approaches based on risk tolerance, including core strategies focused on buying assets with stable in-place cash flows, to more opportunistic strategies that aim to create stabilized assets by either building new assets or by fixing existing non-stabilized assets.
In this episode of the AFIRE Podcast, Warren Wachsberger, CEO, AECOM Capital, discusses his recent Summit Journal article about digital real estate options to diversify your portfolio.
(Featuring Tal Peri, Head, US East Coast and Latin America, Union Investment Real Estate.)
https://www.afire.org/podcast/choosingflex202204/
Employees are increasingly demanding flexibility and choice for where (and when) they work. What strategies can landlords implement to adapt?
In the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, the negative sentiment regarding the prospects of office properties was influenced by lockdowns, empty offices, and a better-than-expected short-term outcome of the work-from-home (WFH) experiment. However, with a prolonged WFH period, the negative aspects of this model as a full-time approach have become evident and have balanced the consensus.
Employees yearn for a higher degree of flexibility and choice when it comes to time spent in the office, compared to working remotely. Because of this, more employers are adapting a hybrid work model in which in-office and remote work is split. While the level of flexibility will vary by industry and company, in aggregate, demand for flexibility from office users is set to rise.
In this episode of the AFIRE Podcast, Tal Peri, Head, US East Coast and Latin America, Union Investment Real Estate, expounds on his recent Summit Journal article focused on the future of flexible work—and what happens next for the office sector.
There’s been a lot of discussion through COVID about work from home and the eventual return to office space. Yet, most predictions are either that everything will return to normal—or nothing will ever be normal again. The reality is likely neither of these two extremes...but what will it be?
In this two-part episode of the AFIRE Podcast, Doug Holte, former President of Irvine Company and current founder and CEO of AgileWorkweekInvestments, explores what "work" has become and how office space will change.
Holte is actively investing in new property technology and commercial property platforms to create an efficient and agile workweek. He’s working within the tremendous forces of change in our work to find better, more productive, and more balanced approaches to the office sector.
According to Holte, building the future of the workplace is a complicated task. Among other things, we need to ask better questions around our needs from the workplace. Whatever we create, can we build it without throwing out all that we already have?
There’s been a lot of discussion through COVID about work from home and the eventual return to office space. Yet, most predictions are either that everything will return to normal—or nothing will ever be normal again. The reality is likely neither of these two extremes...but what will it be?
In this two-part episode of the AFIRE Podcast, Doug Holte, former President of Irvine Company and current founder and CEO of AgileWorkweekInvestments, explores what "work" has become and how office space will change.
and commercial property platforms to create an efficient and agile workweek. He’s working within the tremendous forces of change in our work to find better, more productive, and more balanced approaches to the office sector.
According to Holte, building the future of the workplace is a complicated task. Among other things, we need to ask better questions around our needs from the workplace. Whatever we create, can we build it without throwing out all that we already have?
(Featuring Alicia Glen, Founder and Managing principal of MSquared and former Deputy Mayor of Housing and Economic Development for New York City)
https://www.afire.org/podcast/toodamnhighcast/
Alicia Glen, founder and managing principal of MSquared and former deputy mayor of housing and economic development for New York City, explains how to intelligently and profitably invest in affordable housing at scale. It isn’t easy, especially when using old categories and old business models – and the biases people hold in their heads can often get in the way of seeing real opportunity.
Glen is building her business—a women-owned real estate development and impact investing platform—by looking beyond unchallenged assumptions such as: poor people bring down property values; New York is too expensive; or there aren’t enough talented women in real estate to hire.
In this episode of the AFIRE Podcast with Gunnar Branson, Glen shows how each of these assumptions falls to the side when confronted with thoughtful analyses and forward-thinking investment philosophies that also make profitability possible while providing high-quality affordable housing at the same time.
Through this lens, according to Glen, New York could actually be the affordable housing capital of the world.
(Featuring Dr. Alexis Crow, Lead, Geopolitical Investing Practice, PwC)
www.afire.org/podcast/stewardshipcast/
Whether it’s the impact of income inequality and the lack of affordable housing or the rise of populism and global sea levels, or evolving migration to and from primary cities, the economic and geopolitical challenges of today matter to the institutional real estate investor.
There is more risk, but also more potential to make a meaningful positive impact for investors and the general environment. It is a complicated but navigable landscape for those with eyes wide open.
In this two-part series at the beginning of the AFIRE Podcast’s 2022 season, Dr. Alexis Crow, leader of PwC’s Geopolitical Investing Practice, sat down on November 30, 2021 with AFIRE CEO and podcast host Gunnar Branson to talk about the role real estate stewardship has in the evolving global landscape. Is the industry—and are the people behind it—ready to take on the challenge?
A noted speaker and previous guest at AFIRE executive conferences, Dr. Crow brings a near encyclopedic knowledge of geopolitics and economics home to the real estate space.
(Featuring Dr. Alexis Crow, Lead, Geopolitical Investing Practice, PwC)
https://www.afire.org/podcast/stewardshipcast/
Whether it’s the impact of income inequality and the lack of affordable housing or the rise of populism and global sea levels, or evolving migration to and from primary cities, the economic and geopolitical challenges of today matter to the institutional real estate investor.
There is more risk, but also more potential to make a meaningful positive impact for investors and the general environment. It is a complicated but navigable landscape for those with eyes wide open.
In this two-part series at the beginning of the AFIRE Podcast’s 2022 season, Dr. Alexis Crow, leader of PwC’s Geopolitical Investing Practice, sat down on November 30, 2021 with AFIRE CEO and podcast host Gunnar Branson to talk about the role real estate stewardship has in the evolving global landscape. Is the industry—and are the people behind it—ready to take on the challenge?
A noted speaker and previous guest at AFIRE executive conferences, Dr. Crow brings a near encyclopedic knowledge of geopolitics and economics home to the real estate space.
(Featuring Gabe Klein, Co-Founder, CityFi)
Cars revolutionized the world when they were invented, but they've also had an oversized role in dictating the shape of urban environments over the past century. But our transportation culture is beginning to change—so what can cities do to adapt?
https://www.afire.org/news/carproblemcast/
Cars are a regular part of our everyday lives. They take us wherever we need to go, whenever we need it. They offer independence and convenience. However, they are also one of the largest pollution sources of our modern world, and cost thousands of lives every year in car accidents. Nowhere are these problems more visible than big cities. The traffic, smog and infrastructure costs of urban centers are heavily influenced by the use of cars by thousands of individuals every day. If we accept cars as the problem, how do we find a solution?
Departments of Transportation, discusses the future of urban transportation in terms of reducing large cities' dependency on cars. From bike lanes to electric vehicles, Klein's ideas can help inform our understanding of urbanism.
(Featuring Nan Whaley, Mayor, Dayton, Ohio)
The discussion on recovery as COVID begins to decline often focuses on larger US cities. So what’s next for the mid-sized markets, and could Dayton, Ohio have some answers?
https://www.afire.org/podcast/developingdaytoncast/
How have mid-size cities with less density responded to the pandemic? Are there advantages or disadvantages to living in smaller urban areas in the COVID times? Most importantly, what opportunities can these areas offer investors?
On this episode of the AFIRE Podcast with Gunnar Branson, Nan Whaley, mayor of Dayton, Ohio, explains the challenges and advantages Dayton has experienced during the last two years. Because of its lower density, Dayton was uniquely situated for social distancing protocols, experiencing growth during the pandemic-related migration out of larger gateway markets.
Combined with a very open attitude toward land development, the local market is bouncing back quickly—though housing availability and labor shortages remain as barriers to more expeditious growth. Mayor Whaley shares her goals for increasing density, fostering growth, and creating more equity in housing—and how these goals could inform the future of real estate in other mid-sized US cities.
After the postponement of the landmark international trade fair Expo Real in 2020, AFIRE was pleased to return to Munich, Germany last month for Expo Real 2021.
Running from October 11 to 13 and held at the Messe München exhibition center, this year’s Expo Real had a diminished attendance compared to previous years—due largely to still-active travel restrictions inhibiting frictionless international travel. But the event still welcomed more than 19,000 visitors from 52 countries, and nearly 2,000 exhibitors, all sharing an optimistic view about the future of the real estate industry within and beyond Europe.
Adjusting for the “new normal” of post-pandemic real estate exhibitions, AFIRE replaced its annual Expo Real brunch gathering for an intimate, members-only dinner on October 12 at Brenner Opengrille, providing a space for members to reconnect in person after more than a year of Zoom calls and social distancing.
AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson also joined members on-site at the exhibition center for a series of candid conversations with several Europe-based AFIRE member leaders sharing their views about asset types, investment trends, and emergent challenges and opportunities for US real estate investing.
This episode (out of five) features Martin J. Brühl of Union Investment Real Estate. In his role as Chief Investment Officer, Martin J. Brühl oversees all real estate transactions of Union Investment Real Estate worldwide. With assets under management totaling more than EUR 45 billion, Union Investment is a leading real estate investment manager providing a variety of investment solutions including non-listed retail and institutional open-ended funds, special funds and separate accounts.
Martin has close to 28 years of industry experience and has worked for groups like DTZ, Arthur Andersen and Cushman & Wakefield. Trained in banking and equipped with a degree in real estate appraisal and finance of City University Business School in London, Martin is Past President of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and previous Chairman of the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (AFIRE) whose nearly 200 member firms manage $3 trillion of real estate assets globally.
After the postponement of the landmark international trade fair Expo Real in 2020, AFIRE was pleased to return to Munich, Germany last month for Expo Real 2021.
Running from October 11 to 13 and held at the Messe München exhibition center, this year’s Expo Real had a diminished attendance compared to previous years—due largely to still-active travel restrictions inhibiting frictionless international travel. But the event still welcomed more than 19,000 visitors from 52 countries, and nearly 2,000 exhibitors, all sharing an optimistic view about the future of the real estate industry within and beyond Europe.
Adjusting for the “new normal” of post-pandemic real estate exhibitions, AFIRE replaced its annual Expo Real brunch gathering for an intimate, members-only dinner on October 12 at Brenner Opengrille, providing a space for members to reconnect in person after more than a year of Zoom calls and social distancing.
AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson also joined members on-site at the exhibition center for a series of candid conversations with several Europe-based AFIRE member leaders sharing their views about asset types, investment trends, and emergent challenges and opportunities for US real estate investing.
This episode (out of five) features Janice Stanton, an Executive Managing Director in the Capital Markets group at Cushman & Wakefield. She is responsible for advising global investors on the real estate investment markets. Ms. Stanton has more than 25 years of industry experience in real estate investment research and analytics, finance, and pension fund management.
Ms. Stanton has managed more than $13 billion on behalf of insurance companies and pension funds. Her work has encompassed the capital markets (REITs and CMBS) as well as the private real estate markets. Ms. Stanton joined Cushman & Wakefield from Equinox Investments, a boutique investment management firm where she was a founding partner. Prior to forming Equinox, Ms. Stanton served as a portfolio manager responsible for managing pension fund investments in the real estate division of MetLife and SSR Realty (BlackRock).
Ms. Stanton received a BA from Wellesley College and is a recipient of the YWCA’s Academy of Women Achievers Award. She was also named one of the Women Real Estate Leaders for the 21st Century by Real Estate Weekly Magazine and was chosen as one of 13 Stars to Watch by Commercial Property News. She has been published in the Journal of RE Management.
After the postponement of the landmark international trade fair Expo Real in 2020, AFIRE was pleased to return to Munich, Germany last month for Expo Real 2021.
Running from October 11 to 13 and held at the Messe München exhibition center, this year’s Expo Real had a diminished attendance compared to previous years—due largely to still-active travel restrictions inhibiting frictionless international travel. But the event still welcomed more than 19,000 visitors from 52 countries, and nearly 2,000 exhibitors, all sharing an optimistic view about the future of the real estate industry within and beyond Europe.
Adjusting for the “new normal” of post-pandemic real estate exhibitions, AFIRE replaced its annual Expo Real brunch gathering for an intimate, members-only dinner on October 12 at Brenner Opengrille, providing a space for members to reconnect in person after more than a year of Zoom calls and social distancing.
AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson also joined members on-site at the exhibition center for a series of candid conversations with several Europe-based AFIRE member leaders sharing their views about asset types, investment trends, and emergent challenges and opportunities for US real estate investing.
This episode (out of five) features Joao Nuno Madeira de Andrade, a Board Member at Fidelidade Property Europe, the real estate arm of the Fidelidade Insurance Company Group. Since 1808, Fidelidade has protected the future of families, companies, and of Portugal itself. As market leader in the life and non-life segments, the insurance company brings its sheer size, solidity and credibility to join with innovation, as one of the company’s core values. Its strategy is based on the development of innovative products, which could make the difference in people’s lives.
Joao joined Fidelidade in 2016, previously serving as head of Portugal and Italy for Internos Global Investors. Before that he oversaw Southern Europe investments for Commerz Real AG, and served as director for both Aquirre Hewman and DTZ in Portugal. He is currently a board member of AFIRE.
After the postponement of the landmark international trade fair Expo Real in 2020, AFIRE was pleased to return to Munich, Germany last month for Expo Real 2021.
Running from October 11 to 13 and held at the Messe München exhibition center, this year’s Expo Real had a diminished attendance compared to previous years—due largely to still-active travel restrictions inhibiting frictionless international travel. But the event still welcomed more than 19,000 visitors from 52 countries, and nearly 2,000 exhibitors, all sharing an optimistic view about the future of the real estate industry within and beyond Europe.
Adjusting for the “new normal” of post-pandemic real estate exhibitions, AFIRE replaced its annual Expo Real brunch gathering for an intimate, members-only dinner on October 12 at Brenner Opengrille, providing a space for members to reconnect in person after more than a year of Zoom calls and social distancing.
AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson also joined members on-site at the exhibition center for a series of candid conversations with several Europe-based AFIRE member leaders sharing their views about asset types, investment trends, and emergent challenges and opportunities for US real estate investing.
This episode (out of five) features Sebastian Vetter, the Global Head of Real Estate and Specialised Lending for DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale. DekaBank is the central provider of asset management and capital market solutions of the German Savings Bank Finance Group. Registered in Frankfurt am Main and Berlin, its headquarters is based in Frankfurt. DekaBank was formed in 1999 after the merger of Deutsche Girozentrale Deutsche Kommunalbank and DekaBank GmbH. Together with its subsidiaries it forms the Deka Group, making it one of the largest securities services providers in Germany.
(Featuring Melinda McLaughlin, Senior Vice President of Research, Prologis)
Urbanization, digitalization, and demographics are the key trends to watch for understanding the future of logistics real estate.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/supplychangecast/
The global pandemic has forever altered the logistics real estate landscape. Supply chain decisions have become more holistic, more data-driven, and more urgent than ever.
Underlying this shift are the same forces of urbanization, digitalization, and demographics that have changed the way we live, work, and shop over the past few decades. The future of the supply chain and its concurrent effect on retail will determine demand for logistics real estate for years to come. So what are the trends driving demand for logistics real estate in a post-pandemic world?
On this episode of the AFIRE Podcast, Melinda McLaughlin of Prologis discusses the demands of supply logistics in the age of e-commerce, as well as the changes the pandemic brought to the market. Her insights highlight broader trends in the future of logistics real estate.
(Featuring Secretary Rodney E. Slater, Partner, Squire Patton Boggs; Congressman Bill Shuster, Senior Policy Advisor, Squire Patton Boggs; Caren Street, Principal, Squire Patton Boggs)
https://www.afire.org/podcast/restructuringinfracast02/
Much of the way a city works depends on where you are, and ultimately, where you want to go. And this place—where you want to go—is the source of critical questions about our lives within cities:
How can I get there? Can I afford to live there? Is there a job for me there? Am I safe there, and do I have a fair chance?
While many of us knew that our urban spaces weren’t working equally well for everyone, disparities in access, affordability, and opportunity have been exacerbated by the pandemic, and the list of questions between here and there has doubled in size. Meanwhile, builders, owners, operators, and city leaders have an obligation to find answers—while also trying to ask questions of their own.
Some are looking to President Biden’s infrastructure agenda as a potential source of solutions for more accessible, equitable, and economically successful cities. But anyone paying attention to the events at street level since the emergence of the pandemic understands that conditions and opportunities in urban contexts are complex, multilayered, and occasionally difficult to quantify.
As the current infrastructure agenda continues to evolve in legislation, AFIRE Podcast host Gunnar Branson recently sat down with Rodney Slater, Bill Shuster, and Caren Street of Squire Patton Boggs—infrastructure policy leaders with combined decades of deep local and national experience—to talk about the state of US infrastructure, and where cities can (and should) go next.
(Featuring Secretary Rodney E. Slater, Partner, Squire Patton Boggs; Congressman Bill Shuster, Senior Policy Advisor, Squire Patton Boggs; Caren Street, Principal, Squire Patton Boggs)
https://www.afire.org/podcast/restructuringinfracast01/
Much of the way a city works depends on where you are, and ultimately, where you want to go. And this place—where you want to go—is the source of critical questions about our lives within cities:
How can I get there? Can I afford to live there? Is there a job for me there? Am I safe there, and do I have a fair chance?
While many of us knew that our urban spaces weren’t working equally well for everyone, disparities in access, affordability, and opportunity have been exacerbated by the pandemic, and the list of questions between here and there has doubled in size. Meanwhile, builders, owners, operators, and city leaders have an obligation to find answers—while also trying to ask questions of their own.
Some are looking to President Biden’s infrastructure agenda as a potential source of solutions for more accessible, equitable, and economically successful cities. But anyone paying attention to the events at street level since the emergence of the pandemic understands that conditions and opportunities in urban contexts are complex, multilayered, and occasionally difficult to quantify.
As the current infrastructure agenda continues to evolve in legislation, AFIRE Podcast host Gunnar Branson recently sat down with Secretary Rodney Slater, Congressman Bill Shuster, and Caren Street of Squire Patton Boggs—infrastructure policy leaders with combined decades of deep local and national experience—to talk about the state of US infrastructure, and where cities can (and should) go next.
(Featuring Matt Slepin, Founder, Terra Search Partners)
The job market is changing. From worker shortages to an ever younger work force, hiring processes are being forced to evolve. The real estate industry is no exception.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/impactcast/
While many recruiters are experiencing a busier job market than ever, retirement is on the horizon for much of the current work force, especially executives. Businesses are training future executives at a rapid pace, but demand for more diverse talent is only ramping up. Further, companies need to reevaluate what makes a solid leader; a successful salesperson doesn’t always make a great CEO, after all.
In this episode of the AFIRE Podcast with Gunnar Branson, Matt Slepin, Founder of Terra Search Partners and host of the Leading Voices in Real Estate podcast, discusses the current climate for executive talent, recruitment, and training in the real estate industry. He explains how the search for executives in real estate is creating friction for hiring managers, the difficulties in searching for diverse candidates, and the excitement for new people entering the market.
(Featuring Michael Bull, CCIM, President, Bull Realty)
When casual conversations have become scarce and the world has gone online, how do we keep conversations going?
https://www.afire.org/podcast/conversationcast
During the last year and a half, the COVID-19 pandemic, emerging markets, and rapid changes in technology have converged to turn networking on its head. In this brave new world, investors need a new way to share what they've learned—and learn from others in return (virtually, of course). So, where do we begin? How do we have more of the conversations we used to take for granted, and how do we make them count?
On this episode of the AFIRE podcast, Michael Bull, CEO and founder of Bull Realty and host of America's Commercial Real Estate Show, explains how to listen carefully and ask the right questions. His advice clears up digital communications to inform commercial real estate, as he does on his own podcast. He also shares insights on why Atlanta is so intriguing to investors this year, as well as the impacts of political changes in the city.
(Featuring Max Shepherd, Director of Global Real Assets, Sheffield Haworth, London, and Jannah Babasa, Senior Associate, Global Real Assets, Sheffield Haworth, New York)
As the global life sciences sector continues to grow in real estate, highly specialized skills and experience will be the keys to success.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/lifesciencescast/
In a year of poor performance in some commercial real estate sectors, investors and developers are eyeing up a move into life sciences, but do the risks outweigh the potential benefits?
The life sciences industry consists of companies operating in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices, biomedical technologies, nutraceuticals, cosmeceuticals, and food processing. Recent growth, partially driven by the pandemic, has centered on the health and medical side of the industry, including businesses dedicated to developing, producing, and commercializing innovative treatments, diagnostic tools, equipment, and software to improve and prolong lives.
On this episode of the AFIRE Podcast, Max Shepherd and Jannah Babasa of Sheffield Haworth examine how the pandemic highlighted the resilience of life sciences compared with other commercial real estate sectors. This has led to changes in government policy and increases in public and private funding for the sector.
(Featuring Stacy Krumin, Partner, Real Estate Practice & Global Board Member, Squire Patton Boggs, and John Thomas, Partner, Real Estate Practice Leader, Squire Patton Boggs)
The future is bright for build-to-rent housing, and institutional investors are increasingly looking at investing in the sector.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/buildtorentcast/
Build-to-rent is hot. Demographics; economic changes; generational shifts in desires, values and priorities; and a pandemic have come together to accelerate growth in what was already one of the fastest growing classes of real estate investment.
Demand for single-family rental homes continues to exceed supply, partly fueled by a surge in demand for rental product from high-income renters. Over the past year and a half, this sector has attracted nine- and 10- figure investments from well-known investors.
On this episode of the AFIRE Podcast, Stacy Krumin and John Thomas examine the best ways to take advantage of this expanding market while staying mindful of its unique challenges.
(Featuring Dave Bragg, Co-Head, Strategic Research, Green Street)
Uncertainty surrounding remote work and politics suggest a wide range of potential outcomes for big cities, which may upend the long-running megatrend toward urbanization.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/herdcommunitycast/
The rise or fall of a city is tough to foresee and impossible to forecast with precision, but history suggests that investors keep an open mind about the future. This is particularly the case today as work-from-home (WFH), fiscal health, and politics may portend de-urbanization, which would carry implications for both gateway and Sun Belt markets, as well as urban/suburban dynamics within metro areas.
Post-COVID Flexible WFH policies will allow some employees to relocate. The WFH revelation has also increased comfort in operating a workforce distributed across multiple offices. The spread between Sun Belt and gateway market office-using job growth spiked last year to its highest level in two decades. The biggest winners are places with high WFH utilization rates, based on our metric comparing the pre-COVID propensity to work remotely and an employee’s ability to do so.
On this episode of the AFIRE Podcast, David Bragg discusses the future of commercial real estate markets as migration continues nationwide. As Sun Belt cities and suburbs benefit from the movement, commercial real estate prices are likely to improve dramatically. This podcast is based on the article "Herd Community" from Summit Journal (Summer 2021).
(Featuring Jonathan Ellenzweig, Chief Investment Officer, Tricon Residential)
Over the past two decades, the single-family rental industry has evolved into an institutional-caliber asset class—so where is the sector going next?
https://www.afire.org/podcast/institutionalizingsfrcast/
Over the past decade, the US single-family rental (“SFR”) industry has matured from a largely mom-and-pop cottage business to a professionally managed, institutional-caliber asset class that fills a pronounced gap in the US housing continuum. Before the GFC there were always SFR homes; however, these were typically owned by individuals who were often more focused on near-term cash flow rather than customer service. In fact, in 2005 there were approximately 13 million occupied SFR homes, or 34% of the entire rental housing stock in the US.
The GFC served as a catalyst for the institutionalization of the industry, as large and newly formed technology-enabled owner/operators were able to acquire neglected homes, renovate them, and rent them to families looking for quality rental housing. In many instances, these operators transformed what may have been the worst home on the street into the best. This served to benefit both local homeowners and renters, and served as the genesis of today’s SFR industry.
On this episode of the AFIRE podcast, Jonathan Ellenzweig explains why the SFR industry remains very small and concentrated among a handful of operators – in fact, less than 2% of the country’s approximately 16 million SFR homes are owned by institutional owners.
This podcast is based on the article "Institutionalizing Single-Family" from Summit Journal (Summer 2021).
(Featuring Ernest Lee, Managing Director, Americas, citizenM Hotels)
As we come out of the pandemic to a new economy, it seems likely that the creator economy will continue to grow. This will have a major impact on the multifamily sector.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/multifamilycast/
The current way most technology platforms monetize is based on attention at scale. More eyeballs and clicks results in more advertising. This also applies to other media— whether they are tech platforms, record labels, or newspapers— and this construct is almost always disproportionately better for those that control the tracks, not the trains.
But in an era where people increasingly follow people, not companies, the host platform needs to evolve – and the real estate world needs to take notice of how these trends will shift the relationships tenants will have with cities and buildings.
On this episode of the AFIRE Podcast, Ernest Lee discusses how the multifamily real estate sector will face big changes as the creator economy continues to grow. His advice can help owners avoid technology disrupting the traditional leasing market.
This podcast is based on the article "Influencing Multifamily" from Summit Journal (Summer 2021).
(Featuring Lauren Krause, Director of Environment, Social, and Governance, Grosvenor Americas and Brian Biggs, CFA, Research Director, Grosvenor Americas)
Though “impact investing” is no longer totally distinct from investing in general, investors still have a lot of work to do to fulfill the social and governance aspects of ESG expectations.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/peoplefirstcast/
Gone are the days when investors considered “impact investing” separate from just “investing.” In virtually every industry, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) matters have moved from a peripheral concern to a core business pillar. Real estate is no exception.
Within real estate, the conversation around the environmental component of ESG is quite advanced—and with good reason, as real estate is one of the largest domestic sources of greenhouse gas emissions and embodied carbon in the developed world. The “E” of ESG also has well-defined assessment metrics, key milestones for decarbonizing, and a robust certification marketplace for verifying a building’s green credentials.
On this episode of the AFIRE Podcast, Lauren Krause, Director of Environment, Social, and Governance, Grosvenor Americas and Brian Biggs, CFA, Research Director, Grosvenor Americas, go deeper to explain the social and governance sections of ESG. Science has been very clear on environmental changes necessary, but it can be much more difficult to identify steps to take to fulfill the rest of ESG's goals.
(Featuring Paula Campbell Roberts, Managing Director, Global Macro, Balance Sheet and Risk and Real Estate Americas, KKR)
During times of constant change—especially over the past several months—many of us are having our core ideas or investment theses constantly challenged or contradicted, partly because we're working with limited information. What's the data we should track to understand what happens next?
https://www.afire.org/podcast/changecast/
On any given day over the past several months, we might find ourselves thinking that the office is dead, or that the future is exurban, or that inflation will worsen. And the next day, we find ourselves convinced that the opposite is true.
For those in commercial real estate who let data guide our thinking, the pandemic has erased old precedents and trends, and shaken the foundations of long-term strategic thinking. How is recovery happening on a nationwide level? Are cities losing their economic supremacy? What are the implications of an ongoing pandemic on migration and consumer habits?
On this episode of the AFIRE Podcast, Paula Campbell Roberts, Managing Director, Global Macro, Balance Sheet and Risk and Real Estate Americas for KKR, shares her insights on economic recovery, urban population shifts, and real estate trends—including how investors and decision-makers can look past the headlines and towards the fundamentals that matter, especially during times of prolonged uncertainty.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/londoncallingcast/
With Brexit and pandemic resolutions coming into focus, pricing disparities could dissipate based on improved cross-border liquidity and cap rate compression in the London office market.
Because the global real estate industry is so interconnected, what happens in one part of the world affects what happens everywhere. The UK’s 2016 vote to leave the European Union (Brexit) created financial uncertainty that permeated into commercial real estate capital markets, particularly London’s office market.
London, historically a top destination for foreign capital, saw a decline in liquidity as investors fretted over the economic implications of the vote. Cross-border liquidity was further impaired by the COVID-19 pandemic and its ensuing travel restrictions.
On this episode of the AFIRE Podcast, Christopher Muoio examines why cross-border liquidity has eroded, leading to higher cap rates than those of the Great Financial Crisis. As Brexit and pandemic resolutions come into focus, this divergence could dissipate.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/risingpressurecast/
The increasing burden of state and local taxes required to face the mounting level of unfunded pension liabilities and other committed liabilities could drive widening differentials in local business and living costs, alter regional growth patterns and thereby affect CRE demand.
The COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the economy and local tax collections is exacerbating this pre-existing issue.
The latest joint report from the Praedium Group and SitusAMC, published earlier this year in Summit Journal, looks at rising fiscal pressures on state and local governments, including large-scale changes accelerated by the pandemic.
Throughout the stages of the past economic cycle, Praedium and SitusAMC Insights have published a series of joint reports analyzing the fiscal pressures on state governments and how the resulting responses to those fiscal pressures may affect demographic patterns, economic growth trajectories and commercial real estate demand.
On this episode of the AFIRE Podcast, report authors Russell Appel, Founding Principal of The Praedium Group, and Peter Muoio, Ph.D., Senior Director for SitusAMC Insights, discuss how this research has evolved, and what it means for the future of commercial real estate investments.
(Featuring Martha Peyton, Managing Director, Head of Global Applied Research, Aegon Asset Management)
For commercial real estate investors, inflation fears are real—but are they rational?
https://www.afire.org/podcast/revisitinginflationcast/
Investors cite inflation hedging power as one of the primary attractions of property investments. This characteristic has been of limited use in recent years given the very low pace of inflation in the US and throughout most developed global markets, leaving other factors to drive the investment allure of real estate. Currently, inflation fears are emerging and raising concerns regarding potential negative effects on discount rates used to value portfolio properties, as well as potential positive effects on property cash flows.
However, according to Martha Peyton of Aegon Asset Management, inflation fears are potentially overblown, based on current macro-economic conditions. And, expectations of problematic inflation may actually have a negative impact on commercial property dynamics if they become pervasive.
Listen now on your favorite podcast service (Apple, Google, Spotify) for the full episode.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/michaelbirkincast/
After everything we have been through over the past eighteen months, the way we communicate with clients, investors, tenants, and friends has undergone dramatic change—with new expectations already hard-wired into our social interactions.
So what do these changes mean for the future of marketing, relationship development, and community interaction in commercial real estate?
To answer this question, this two-part episode of the AFIRE Podcast welcomes influential global marketing executive Michael Birkin, CEO of kyu, to consider the future of communication within and beyond the global commercial real estate industry.
While technology has significantly altered how we do everything from media consumption decisions to business marketing strategy, it has also changed our brain chemistry itself. The degree to which leaders can understand this evolution will determine success into the next few decades—especially as technology evolves apace.
Truth matters—now, more than ever.
Listen now on your favorite podcast service (Apple, Google, Spotify) for the full episode.
(Featuring Michael Birkin, CEO, kyu)
After everything we have been through over the past eighteen months, the way we communicate with clients, investors, tenants, and friends has undergone dramatic change—with new expectations already hard-wired into our social interactions.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/michaelbirkincast/
So what do these changes mean for the future of marketing, relationship development, and community interaction in commercial real estate?
To answer this question, this two-part episode of the AFIRE Podcast welcomes influential global marketing executive Michael Birkin, CEO of kyu, to consider the future of communication within and beyond the global commercial real estate industry.
While technology has significantly altered how we do everything from media consumption decisions to business marketing strategy, it has also changed our brain chemistry itself. The degree to which leaders can understand this evolution will determine success into the next few decades—especially as technology evolves apace.
Truth matters—now, more than ever.
Listen now on your favorite podcast service (Apple, Google, Spotify) for the full episode.
(Featuring William J. Ferguson, Chairman, CEO, Ferguson Partners)
Facing fiscal challenges, social unrest, geopolitical conflict, climate change, supply chain disruption, and the ongoing COVID crisis, what should tomorrow’s real estate leaders do today to prepare for the future ahead?
https://www.afire.org/podcast/testuponuscast/
If ever there is a time when steady leadership is required in real estate—this is that time. With the mountain challenges presented by extrinsic circumstances in the world, the real estate industry demands good leadership. But good leaders can be hard to find when our definition of leadership is unclear.
On this episode of the AFIRE Podcast, we explore the next generation of leadership with William J. Ferguson, Chairman and CEO of Ferguson Partners, a leading global talent management firm. Ferguson is also the author of four books, including the recently released The Test is Now Upon Us, which profiles some of the top leaders in global real estate and collects insights on leadership through uncertain times.
Listen now on your favorite podcast service (Apple, Google, Spotify) for the full episode.
(Featuring Frances Mennone, Advisor, Consultant Cross Street Partners, and Bruce Katz, Co-Founder, The New Localism)
When the pandemic first spread across the globe in early 2020, real estate and urban experts collectively began to ask: What will this crisis mean for cities?
https://www.afire.org/podcast/mennonekatzcast/
And now, as the world now deals with the latter stages of the pandemic, with many cities now cautiously entering a recovery phase, what have we learned, and how should CRE investors think about the future of urbanism? In April 2020, AFIRE’s CEO (and host of the AFIRE Podcast) Gunnar Branson joined Frances Mennone of Cross Street Partners and Bruce Katz of New Localism to ask—early in the COVID crisis—what it will take for cities to reopen and reactivate their economies. (See: “Re-Opening the Economy and the Complexities of Downtowns” at thenewlocalism.com)
At the time, the authors concluded that “the recovery, particularly in the cores of our cities and metropolitan areas, can be faster and more inclusive if communities plan with ambition and act with focus. The future of our cities begins now.”
Today, more than a year since their initial conversation, Mennone and Katz join the AFIRE Podcast to explore what cities have learned, and what they still need to do, in order to build back better—even as the pandemic enters its more muddled “delta phase.”
According to Mennone, “Cities are humming organisms, and when you stop them, you will need shock paddles to get them started again.”
Listen now on your favorite podcast service (Apple, Google, Spotify) for the full episode.
(Featuring Dongsoo Kim, Director of the Sustainability Management Center, Korea Productivity Center)
Because the standards and expectations are different country-by-country, reaching sustainability goals is a complex challenge for global investors.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/sustainingfuturecast/
But with the real estate industry finally learning how to integrate technology, leaders in the space have the unique opportunity to challenge assumptions and work towards a greener future.
So how can (and should) companies use data to understand what’s happening onsite, throughout the real estate supply chain, and in the communities they’re invested?
On this episode of the AFIRE Podcast, Dongsoo Kim, Director of the Sustainability Management Center for the Korea Productivity Center (KPC) discusses how the real estate industry has already adapted to sustainable imperatives, and what else needs to happen for organizations to move forward.
Established in 1957, KPC is a government-supported agency that works to support productivity improvements across the country’s economy. KPC has played a pivotal role in increasing productivity and economic growth in Korea. The organization provides consulting, education, and training services, as well as support for the implementation of quality and environmental management systems. KPC has also developed and continues to publish Korea’s National Customer Satisfaction Index (NCSI) as well as the country’s National Brand Competitiveness Index (NBCI).
Listen now on your favorite podcast service (Apple, Google, Spotify) for the full episode.
(Featuring Steve Weikal, Head of Industry Relations and CRE Technology, MIT Real Estate Innovation Lab)
In the past two years alone, more than $50 billion has been invested into emerging proptech. As new businesses in proptech continue to expand, what should investors pay attention to?
https://www.afire.org/podcast/mediatingre/
Although some experts suspected that proptech would face a slowdown in 2020, the sector actually grew faster than it did in 2019, consistent with the notion that the pandemic served as an accelerant for changes already underway across the entire CRE value chain. If investors weren't already prioritizing proptech, are they already too late?
Steve Weikal, head of industry relations and CRE technology at the MIT Real Estate Innovation Lab, discusses how investors can rethink the relationship people have with real estate through proptech. Enabled by emerging machine learning, AI, analytics, and other technologies, proptech has proven to generate a convergence of uses in the real estate space. What can investors expect to see moving forward?
(Featuring Chris Happ, Tech Entrepreneur, Investor)
The events of the past year have been the big push needed by the real estate industry to adapt to new technology. And with more than $50 billion in new proptech investments, the pace is quickening. Where can CRE investors find value in this rapidly evolving field?
https://www.afire.org/podcast/unpackingproptech/
A few years ago, proptech was not a term that was used to define the real estate industry. Now, as the investors who have mastered big data emerge to the forefront of the global real estate industry, businesses across the entire CRE spectrum need the capabilities for capturing information, insights, and trends in order to stay at the front of the market.
On this episode of the AFIRE Podcast, tech entrepreneur and investor Chris Happ discusses how investors can navigate the proptech space—especially how to separate the bells and whistles from the inner workings.
Listen now on your favorite podcast service (Apple, Google, Spotify) for the full episode.
(Featuring Elizabeth Stern, Partner, Mayer Brown, and Carl Risch, Partner, Mayer Brown)
Border shutdowns as a result of pandemic policy have been a major sticking point for cross-border investment over the past year. What should investors know about travel into the US right now?
https://www.afire.org/podcast/readytotravel/
As the COVID-19 vaccines are being deployed in the US and other countries, with promising results, borders between countries are gradually reopening. But as the pandemic continues to mutate and affect different populations and regions, the rules for what is required when crossing from one nation to another can be confusing—and may even impact investment opportunities.
Elizabeth Stern and Carl Risch, partners with Mayer Brown and part of the firm's Global Mobility and Migration Practice, discuss recent policy changes (as of June 2021) affecting business travel and global mobility, as well as the outlook for cross-border opportunities in the year ahead.
(Featuring Sabrina Unger, Managing Director, Research and Strategy, American Realty Advisors)
The future of residential investments is all about demographics—and the forces behind them.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/residential-investments/
With more and more time spent at home, capital appetite has grown for all things residential, with new living schemes entering the fray at a rapid pace.
Yet not all living investments are as safe as houses. It is important to consider demographic wave crests and troughs and how these forces will impact prospects for the various components of the residential spectrum going forward.
Sabrina Unger, Managing Director and Head of Research of Strategy for of American Realty Advisors, talks about the future of residential investing and how the COVID-19 crisis influenced the evolution of that particular asset class.
(Featuring Sunil A. Misser, CEO, AccountAbility)
During a time of unprecedented uncertainty and disruption, how should businesses approach the “new metrics of performance?” And what do these metrics mean for the future of ESG in the real estate industry?
https://www.afire.org/podcast/sustainabilitycast02/
We are in a time of unprecedented uncertainty and disruption, as the pandemic, in particular, has posed unique challenges for all businesses for how their employees work, how clients behave, and how supply chains function. Geopolitical, macroeconomic shifts, among other fundamental changes in CRE, will ultimately determine the priorities of institutional investing for the years ahead.
In today’s terms, business performance transcends profits and losses and incorporates a broader focus on “Corporate Purpose.” This shift from shareholder to stakeholder capitalism was asserted through the Business Roundtable’s 2019 statement on the Purpose of a Corporation affirming “the essential role corporations can play in improving our society when CEOs are truly committed to meeting the needs of all stakeholders.” How can businesses use collaboration and connectivity to thrive and adapt in the CRE industry?
Sunil A. Misser, CEO of AccountAbility, talks about the importance of embedding ESG positions into mainstream business strategy, and the need for resilience in a post-COVID industry landscape.
(Featuring Ben Wobschall, Managing Director, Portfolio Manager, Principal Real Estate Investors)
Data center investments have proven resilient in periods of economic volatility—and they’re only going to become more essential and important into the future.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/data-centers/
Once viewed as a niche real estate investment, data centers have risen in popularity as the need for data storage and processing has rocketed in parallel with the amount of data consumed by individuals, businesses, and new technologies.
While pandemic-related social restrictions have accelerated data usage trends, data centers have long been vital to the global economy’s reliance on connectivity. With an attractive risk/return profile and significant barriers to entry, the industry has proven itself resilient in both good and bad economies, making high-quality data centers an increasingly attractive opportunity for real estate investors.
As the world grows increasingly interconnected, the demand for data requires more storage solutions and robust processing power. While in the past the primary purpose of data centers was to simply store data, today computing power and network connectivity have become the most important purpose for these facilities.
Ben Wobschall, Managing Director and Portfolio Manager for Principal Real Estate Investors talks about the investment opportunities in this specialized but increasingly critical sector.
(Featuring Sunil A. Misser, CEO, AccountAbility)
During a time of unprecedented uncertainty and disruption, how should businesses approach the “new metrics of performance,” and how will ESG evolve in 2021?
https://www.afire.org/podcast/sustainabilitycast01/
We are in a time of unprecedented uncertainty and disruption, as the pandemic, in particular, is posing unique challenges for all businesses for how their employees work, how clients behave, how supply chains function, and how to confront the “new metrics of performance.” Fundamental changes in CRE will ultimately determine the significance of institutional investing for the years ahead.
Business performance, in today’s terms, transcends profits and losses and incorporates a broader focus on “Corporate Purpose.” This shift from shareholder to stakeholder capitalism was asserted through the Business Roundtable’s 2019 statement on the Purpose of a Corporation affirming “the essential role corporations can play in improving our society when CEOs are truly committed to meeting the needs of all stakeholders.”
On this episode of the AFIRE Podcast—the first of a two-part conversation—Sunil A. Misser, CEO of AccountAbility talks about the importance of embedding ESG positions into mainstream business strategy, and the need for resilience in a post-COVID industry landscape.
Listen now on your favorite podcast service (Apple, Google, Spotify) for the full episode.
(Featuring Jim O'Shaughnessy, Managing Director & Hotel Group Leader, Barings Real Estate)
If history is a guide, the time to invest in hotels is when things look bleak. This appears to be one of those times.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/checkincast/
Hotels and retail properties have borne much of the global pandemic’s brunt since the spring of 2020 with COVID-19 ravaging the US economy and dramatically altering consumer behaviors.
And while the challenges facing the retail sector are as much about structural change as they are about cyclical weakness, the story is notably different in the hotel sector, which remains underpinned by long-term structural growth drivers.
That doesn’t mean the picture for hotels has been rosy. In fact, as a result of the global pandemic, US hotels saw their largest-ever decline in demand in 2020—with revenue per available room (RevPAR) down approximately 47.5% compared to 2019.1 And even this striking statistic doesn’t tell the full story, as it wasn’t until March 2020 that the virus started to truly weigh on demand in the US.
Jim O’Shaughnessy, Managing Director & Hotel Group Leader of Barings Real Estate talks about the underlying structural trends, in place long before COVID, and how they will intersect with the coming cyclical recovery—which will inevitably be uneven across the hotel sector and tied to factors such as location and property attributes.
(Featuring Gilda Perez-Alvarado, Global CEO, JLL Hotels and Hospitality)
The pandemic has heavily impacted the hospitality sector, but a growing wave of non-traditional investors has shown heightened interest in getting a piece of the evolving industry.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/franchisingcast/
While certainly not approachable to every kind of entrepreneur, hotel franchising can be a great way to diversify a portfolio and bolster income.
With the lodging industry ready to move forward, third-party management and franchising agreements have come to the forefront of impacting global investor interest, with hotel owners demanding increased flexibility, deeper focus on operations, and more control of their assets.
Gilda Perez-Alvarado, Global CEO of JLL Hotels and Hospitality, talks about the expected demand for hospitality and what's going to happen next for the hotels and reopening continues in the US.
(Featuring John Falcicchio, Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, Washington, DC)
As cities in the US adapt to a new normal, city leaders, planners, developers, and investors have a new challenge: to define the "new normal" of the built environment. And though it stands unique among American cities, Washington, DC could have answers for our collective urban futures.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/betternormal/
On this episode of the AFIRE Podcast, John Falcicchio, Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development for Washington, DC, talks about how the district is not only working to embrace a new normal, but also implementing innovative solutions as a means to create a better normal.
Racial equity and affordable housing are top-of-mind, alongside promoting and preserving density in the city's business districts and workplaces, including reimagined retail experiences and use of public space. What are the obstacles that DC is facing in particular, and what are lessons other cities can learn from DC's ideas and experiments?
According to Falcicchio, collaboration between all city stakeholders—including residents, business and restaurant owners, building managers and owners, investors—is the key to the future of US cities.
(Featuring Robert Sun, Leader of Product Development and Corporate Strategy, GTIS Partners)
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the advantages of single-family living. It appears to have accelerated an existing trend of migration to less dense, more affordable areas.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/goldilockscast/
The US housing market began 2020 with favorable demographics-driven housing demand, balanced new supply, healthy home appreciation, and responsible mortgage lending. However, the unexpected COVID-19 pandemic led to the worst economic disruption in history, with more than 22 million lost jobs between February and April 2020.
In response, the US government approved nearly US$3 trillion in fiscal stimulus while the Federal Reserve cut interest rates to zero and rolled out an unprecedented scale of support to restart the financial system. Combined, government responses to the COVID-19 crisis helped to stabilize the economy and the housing market has emerged as a bright spot in the recovery.
However, the resilience of the housing market can be explained by structural factors that persisted before and during the economic crisis. Robert Sun, leader of Product Development and Corporate Strategy at GTIS Partners—a leading real assets private equity firm in the Americas, investing in the US and Brazil—discusses these structural factors, and what's next for housing in the US.
(Featuring Brad Dockser, CEO, Green Generation)
Just as the pandemic has accelerated changes in culture, it has underscored the symbiosis between the built environment and the natural world. What's the key to "greening" the next generation of commercial real estate?
https://www.afire.org/podcast/sustainability-in-cre/
As industry professionals move back to the office, the dynamics of the "new normal" are kicking into high gear, including a renewed corporate focus on ESG strategies, actions, and intentions. Financial decisions can't be divorced from the key principles of environment, social, and governance (ESG) standards that are increasingly central to investment decisions for commercial real estate.
Brad Dockser, CEO of Green Generation—a firm that operates globally at the intersection of energy, real estate, capital markets, and technology—discusses how real estate leaders and investors can achieve a low-carbon future—and why the future is now.
(Featuring Robert Jue, CEO, Standard Real Estate Investments, Jerome Nichols, President, Standard Real Estate Investments, Shubhra Jha, Principal, Standard Real Estate Investments)
The investment community can have an active role in an equitable economic recovery—but it will require the necessary discomfort of recasting the traditional risk/return framework.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/recastingriskandreturn/
Recessions typically put a hard stop to development. Shrinking economic activity, loss of jobs, and uncertainty about the recovery make it more challenging for developers and lenders to greenlight projects. But this pandemic-induced recession is different, because the supply/demand balance heading into it was not too out-of-sync with economic realities, and the amount of leverage in the ecosystem was not too onerous. More importantly, the pandemic and the uneven K-shaped recovery have magnified and laid bare some deeply ingrained systemic deficits in housing, healthcare, education, retail, and other services for minority and other disadvantaged communities.
Robert Jue, Jerome Nichols, and Shubra Jha of Standard Real Estate Investments discuss how inclusive development that lifts up overlooked communities is sustainable, equitable, and profitable—not just by the metrics of traditional financial results but, more importantly, by creating true social impact.
This podcast is based on the article “Recasting Risk and Return” from Summit Journal. Read and download the article here: https://www.afire.org/summit/recastingriskandreturn/
(Featuring William Maher, Director of Strategy, RCLCO Fund Advisors, and Ben Maslan, Managing Directors, RCLCO Fund Advisors)
Though leverage is an important part of capital funding, it’s important to ask LPs if (and how) they should take control of their real estate leverage.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/leveragingcontrolrclco/
Leverage is widely used in real estate as an important part of the capital funding, and real estate and leverage have gone hand-in-hand since mortgages originated in England in the Middle Ages. When used wisely, it can enhance returns and provide other portfolio benefits. Institutional investors manage real estate leverage in a variety of ways, but typically utilize relatively low levels of leverage for low-risk investments and higher levels of leverage for higher risk investments. In general, this has worked out in terms of overall returns, but may not be the most efficient strategy.
In this episode of the AFIRE Podcast, RCLCO Fund Advisors’ Director of Strategy and Research William Maher and Managing Director Ben Maslan discuss how institutional investors should continue to use moderate levels of leverage on a portfolio-wide basis but also explore ways to minimize the cost and maximize the flexibility of real estate leverage. In particular, overall fund-level leverage can offer investors lower interest rates while not encumbering specific properties held in their portfolios.
This podcast is based on the article “Confronting the Myth” from Summit Journal.
(Featuring Shumeca Pickett, Founder, Principal, Alfred Dewitt Ard)
The events of the past year have driven businesses to confront racial inequity, but some still shy away from the challenging language needed to make real, restorative, and economic progress.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/confrontingthemythcast/
. . . so what should leaders in the real estate industry do to meet the moment? Corporate social responsibility (CSR), diversity and inclusion (D&I) initiatives, and ESG reporting are part of the solution, but don’t always inspire change from the top down. What can the past tell us about the present to provide the framework for individuals and organizations to foster a more equitable future?
In this episode of the AFIRE Podcast, Shumeca Pickett, Founder and Principal of Alfred Dewitt Ard, a social impact consultancy, talks about race, equity, White supremacy, and challenging but necessary language needed to create meaningful change.
Listen now on your favorite podcast service (Apple, Google, Spotify) for the full episode.
(Featuring Ed Wagoner, CIO, JLL)
In the post-COVID built environment, understanding building users at all levels will be critical to asset and investment performance. But how exactly is the “user” changing, and what does that evolution mean for investors?
https://www.afire.org/podcast/uxandcre
As employers return to office, amenities will matter. But as a result of the pandemic, the “value” of everything from shared space, outdoor access, eating, and vertical transportation means something radically different. How is the definition of these services and the overall building-user experience changing, and what role to owners, managers, and investors have in meeting these expectations? And what will happen when they can’t?
In this episode of the AFIRE Podcast, Ed Wagoner, CIO, JLL Digital talks about how proptech, “user experience design,” and building usage has changed throughout the pandemic, and what investors will need to do to overcome the challenges of a rapidly evolving built environment.
Listen now on your favorite podcast service (Apple, Google, Spotify) for the full episode.
(Featuring Richard Florida, Urbanist, Author, Professor, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto)
As the cities cautiously re-open into the late phase of the pandemic, writer and urbanist Richard Florida believes that metros have a unique opportunity to reimagine and redefine what a “central business district” will look like in the new normal. Community is key.
www.afire.org/podcast/postcrisiscities/
In this two-part AFIRE Podcast (the FIFTIETH EPISODE of the podcast!) host and AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson sits down with Richard Florida, urbanist, author, and professor at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, to discuss the the crisis cities were facing before the pandemic, how the crisis accelerated evolving trends in work and lifestyle habits, and the opportunity cities have right now to reimagine what live-work-play means in their communities.
As a prolific economist and researcher in global urban trends, Richard Florida has helped investors better understand how cities have changed and evolved, particularly through his work in The Rise of the Creative Class (2002) and The New Urban Crisis (2017). In this podcast, Florida calls on investors to embrace change as work habits, families, and use of the built environment adapts to life after the pandemic.
(Featuring Richard Florida, Urbanist, Author, Professor, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto)
As the cities cautiously re-open into the late phase of the pandemic, writer and urbanist Richard Florida believes that metros have a unique opportunity to reimagine and redefine what a "central business district" will look like in the new normal. Community is key.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/postcrisiscities/
In this two-part AFIRE Podcast (the FIFTIETH EPISODE of the podcast!) host and AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson sits down with Richard Florida, urbanist, author, and professor at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, to discuss the the crisis cities were facing before the pandemic, how the crisis accelerated evolving trends in work and lifestyle habits, and the opportunity cities have right now to reimagine what live-work-play means in their communities.
As a prolific economist and researcher in global urban trends, Richard Florida has helped investors better understand how cities have changed and evolved, particularly through his work in The Rise of the Creative Class (2002) and The New Urban Crisis (2017). In this podcast, Florida calls on investors to embrace change as work habits, families, and use of the built environment adapts to life after the pandemic.
(Featuring Andrew Weiner, Real Estate Practice Partner, Pillsbury)
Non-US-based investors face the disclosure regime of the Corporate Transparency Act. What do you need to know?
https://www.afire.org/podcast/corporatetransparency/
Non-US-based investors that own or invest in US real estate have never been free from disclosure requirements. But the disclosure regime has historically been relatively inobtrusive. The Federal government has been ratcheting up the scope of required disclosure, in part as a response to the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and to rising concerns about money laundering through real estate ownership.
On January 1, 2021, Congress enacted the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), the most significant expansion in over twenty years of requirements to disclose the identity of individuals who own or control entities engaged in business in the US. While the CTA applies both to domestic and to some non-US-based entities, and is not limited to real estate activities, when fully implemented its effect on non-US-based investors and sponsors of commingled vehicles in which these investors participate will be substantial.
In this episode of the AFIRE Podcast, Andrew Weiner, Real Estate Practice Partner at Pillsbury, talks about the current state of the CTA—and what investors will need to watch for in the coming months.
Listen now on your favorite podcast service (Apple, Google, Spotify) for the full episode.
(This podcast is based on the article “Transparency Rules” from Summit Journal.)
(Featuring Vincent Cicciarelli, Growth Lead, JLL Spark)
As proptech continues to transform commercial real estate, discoveries happening on the venture side provide key insights on the future of ESG, portfolio optimization, cost savings, and human capital.
(This podcast episode is part two of a two-part conversation. Listen to the full conversation at https://www.afire.org/podcast/jllsparkproptech/)
In this two-part AFIRE Podcast, host and AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson sits down with Vincent Cicciarelli, Growth Lead at JLL Spark, to look at the current state of proptech for CRE, how pandemic-related evolutions in space usage present a unique problem that proptech is especially suited to solve, and what these solutions will mean for investors into the future.
With unique insights as a member of JLL Spark, one of the leading proptech venture funds, Cicciarelli explains how he and his group "look for novel technology solutions to age-old problems in commercial real estate."
What age-old problems are set to be solved next?
(Featuring Vincent Cicciarelli, Growth Lead, JLL Spark)
As proptech continues to transform commercial real estate, discoveries happening on the venture side provide key insights on the future of ESG, portfolio optimization, cost savings, and human capital.
(This podcast episode is part one of a two-part conversation. Listen to the full conversation at https://www.afire.org/podcast/jllsparkproptech/)
In this two-part AFIRE Podcast, host and AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson sits down with Vincent Cicciarelli, Growth Lead at JLL Spark, to look at the current state of proptech for CRE, how pandemic-related evolutions in space usage present a unique problem that proptech is especially suited to solve, and what these solutions will mean for investors into the future.
With unique insights as a member of JLL Spark, one of the leading proptech venture funds, Cicciarelli explains how he and his group "look for novel technology solutions to age-old problems in commercial real estate."
What age-old problems are set to be solved next?
(This podcast episode is part two of a two-part conversation. Listen to the full conversation at https://www.afire.org/podcast/ethicsfrontandcenter01/)
While discussed in universities, business schools, and corporate mission statements, ethics need to be front-and-center during times of crisis and uncertainty. What should this look like in the world real estate investing?
In this new episode of the AFIRE Podcast, podcast host and AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson sits down with El Rosenheim, Founder and CEO of Profimex, to discuss what honesty, transparency, and integrity look like in practice for business leaders, investment managers, stakeholders, and communities. Rosenheim is also the chair of AFIRE’s Ethics Committee, and this episode expands on his article, “A Call to Ethics,” which first appeared in Summit Journal. While the purpose of investing is to profit, Rosenheim says, the pursuit of returns must not ignore the implications of the decisions we make every day—consciously and unconsciously—as investors, fiduciaries, and global citizens.
This podcast is part of AFIRE’s Ethics Project. Launched in 2020 and led by AFIRE members, the Ethics Project aims to develop an ethics for the global commercial real estate investor community—inwards, for how we work with each other, and outwards, for all users of the built environment.
(Featuring Bill Himmelstein, CEO, Tenant Advisory Group)
The global pandemic has disrupted our ability to meet together in-person with clients, colleagues, and collaborators—but according to Bill Himmelstein of Tenant Advisory Group, this is a beginning for how we can redefine relationships, and not the end.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/new-way-to-network/
In this new episode of the AFIRE Podcast, host and AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson sits down with Bill Himmelstein, CEO of Tenant Advisory Group, to share his insights on how to become a partner rather than a vendor. What are the key questions you should ask, and the critical strategies you should take, when building new relationships as we emerge into a new normal?
For many investors, the global pandemic continues to pose a challenge for networking and relationship building. With a new business approach, investors can move away from the traditional “business card networking” model and try new approaches that serve business needs, as well as the bottom line.
Listen on your favorite podcast service (Apple, Google, Spotify) for the full episode.
(Featuring Mike Hu, Managing Director, Gaw Capitol Partners)
With travel limitations, empty offices, and remote working, the routine operating procedures for cross-border investment faced seas of uncertainty over the past year. As the world returns to a new normal, what's next for international investment?
https://www.afire.org/podcast/afirepodcast43/
In this new episode of the AFIRE Podcast, host and AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson sits down with Mike Hu, Managing Director of Gaw Capital Partners, to share his thoughts on US property markets from the perspective of an international investor. What's the future of cross-border investing in the real estate market, especially between Asia and the US?
For many international investors, the US remains the most transparent and most liquid market in the world, which shows promise for continued investment into the US. But how that interest plays out will depend on what happens as the US and the rest of the world emerges from the pandemic.
(Featuring Tracy Loh, Fellow, Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Center for Transformative Placemaking, Brookings Institution)
So much has changed with the global COVID-19 pandemic, but the honest concern is, will real estate be ready to embrace a new change?
https://www.afire.org/podcast/real-estate-reset-2/
In this new episode of the AFIRE Podcast—the second of a two-part conversation—podcast host and AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson sits down with Tracy Loh of the Brookings Institution, and co-author of Brookings' "The Great Real Estate Reset: A data-driven initiative to remake how and what we build," to explain the demographics of housing, its impact on the built environment, and how it's changing.
In order to create change in a major sector in the economy—one which constitutes 43% of all investment assets in the US—it is crucial to look at the fundamentals of the industry, and where they fit into the larger social context. Climate change, social unrest, and other emergent imbalances and crises indicate the need to “reset” the status quo. According to Loh, we must “think bigger about new policies that are more just and prioritize an economy that is more resilient.”
Listen on your favorite podcast service (Apple, Google, Spotify) for the full episode.
(Featuring Tracy Loh, Fellow, Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Center for Transformative Placemaking, Brookings Institution)
The COVID-19 pandemic forced many investors to restructure their agendas. What does it mean to "reset real estate," and what role should investors have in imagining in the future of the world?
https://www.afire.org/podcast/real-estate-reset/
In this new episode of the AFIRE Podcast—the first of a two-part conversation—podcast host and AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson sits down with Tracy Loh of the Brookings Institution, and co-author of Brookings' "The Great Real Estate Reset: A data-driven initiative to remake how and what we build," to unravel the economic, social, and political trends that have accelerated during the pandemic—and will significantly affect the real estate landscape for years to come.
In order to create change in a major sector in the economy—one which constitutes 43% of all investment assets in the US—it is crucial to look at the fundamentals of the industry, and where they fit into the larger social context. Climate change, social unrest, and other emergent imbalances and crises indicate the need to "reset" the status quo. According to Loh, we must "think bigger about new policies that are more just and prioritize an economy that is more resilient."
(Featuring El Rosenheim, Founder, CEO, Profimex)
This podcast episode is part one of a two-part conversation. Listen to the full conversation at https://www.afire.org/podcast/ethicsfrontandcenter01/
While discussed in universities, business schools, and corporate mission statements, ethics need to be front-and-center during times of crisis and uncertainty. What should this look like in the world real estate investing?
In this new episode of the AFIRE Podcast, podcast host and AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson sits down with El Rosenheim, Founder and CEO of Profimex, to discuss what honesty, transparency, and integrity look like in practice for business leaders, investment managers, stakeholders, and communities. Rosenheim is also the chair of AFIRE’s Ethics Committee, and this episode expands on his article, “A Call to Ethics,” which first appeared in Summit Journal. While the purpose of investing is to profit, Rosenheim says, the pursuit of returns must not ignore the implications of the decisions we make every day—consciously and unconsciously—as investors, fiduciaries, and global citizens.
This podcast is part of AFIRE’s Ethics Project. Launched in 2020 and led by AFIRE members, the Ethics Project aims to develop an ethics for the global commercial real estate investor community—inwards, for how we work with each other, and outwards, for all users of the built environment.
(Featuring Dror Poleg, Author, Rethinking Real Estate, Co-Chair, Urban Land Institute, Tech and Innovation Council, Co-Founder, Real Innovation Academy)
All of the middle class amenities much of the world takes for granted today are still relatively new—and were even considered radical when they first appeared on the real estate spectrum.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/drorpoleg02/
. . . so as the world emerges from the pandemic into the new normal, what are the key lessons of novelty and economic evolution the real estate ecosystem should understand today in order to better plan for tomorrow?
In the second half of AFIRE's conversation with Dror Poleg, author of Rethinking Real Estate, the AFIRE Podcast explores the growing tide of service expectations and amenitization for all real estate asset classes.
As much as these expectations were ascendent before the pandemic, their nascence underscores a larger and more radical cultural shift that transcends the real estate business while also reflecting similar pivotal moments of social evolution in history to transform the basic principles of how the built world works—and where each person and building user fits into the mix.
How this fundamental transformation has upsides and downsides to all building types, but those that are the most flexible and adaptable may have the most potential—because they're already prepared for the changes ahead.
Listen now to the episode on this page or your favorite podcast service (Apple, Google, Spotify).
(Featuring Dror Poleg, Author, Rethinking Real Estate, Co-Chair, Urban Land Institute, Tech and Innovation Council, Co-Founder, Real Innovation Academy)
Over the last several years, there has been significant change in the real estate industry—and the pandemic has served to kick that evolution into high gear. So what happens next?
https://www.afire.org/podcast/drorpoleg01
While some sectors—such as industrial and housing—have shown increased promise through and beyond this current advanced moment in the pandemic, some of the real changes in "core" assets might not become clear for several years.
In this newest episode of the AFIRE Podcast—the first of two special conversations with Dror Poleg, author of Rethinking Real Estate and Co-Chair of the Tech & Innovation Council at ULI—we dive into what happens next for these once-stable sectors, including office buildings and other real estate integral to the apparent cohesion of the central business districts before the pandemic.
As large companies seek new forms of flexibility for how they use their space, and how their employees utilize that space, they're also reimagining the services they provide—and the services they need in order to make these changes possible. According to Poleg, we're just at the beginning.
(Featuring Stefan Wundrak, Head of Research, Europe, Nuveen Real Estate)
A fast-changing and profitable landscape, industrial real estate, or what is now called “logistics” in Europe has firmly established itself as one of the key sectors on par with office, retail, and residential.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/duckling-or-swan/
The pandemic and subsequent severe recession has caused friction in many parts of the real estate market, especially in retail, hospitality, and office. In contrast, many parts of the industrial market are set to benefit, most obviously, the logistics sector.
With the development of the digital economy, data centers are the next frontier, where a mixture of REITs (mainly in the US) and private market capital (mainly in Europe) are shaping a new distinct asset class with huge growth potential. Data centers must be near their customers, which are consumers as well as businesses.
Stefan Wundrak, Head of Research, Europe, Nuveen Real Estate, talks about how industrial real estate has grown as a sector of its own driven by e-commerce and trends accelerated through COVID-19.
(Featuring Collette English Dixon, Executive Director, Marshall Bennett Institute of Real Estate, Roosevelt University)
How can the social and economic framework in real estate be changed to harbor a diverse and inclusive workplace?
https://www.afire.org/podcast/opportunity-for-change/
The historical structure of real estate, unconscious biases, and hiring approaches all promote the social and economic inequity that continues to exist today—within and beyond the real estate industry. In an echo for more transparency with communities of color, education provides a more holistic outlook towards diversity.
Collete English Dixon, Executive Director of the Marshall Bennett Institute of Real Estate at Roosevelt University, discusses how education can diversify and expand the talent pipeline for real estate hiring and culture. In order to attract a truly diverse pool of talent, it is important to be intentional when setting routes for career success.
(Featuring Brian Biggs, CFA, Research Director, Grosvenor Americas, and Madeleine Roberts, Research Analyst, Grosvenor Americas)
Portfolio diversification is one of the most fundamental concepts in investing. Diversification is a useful risk management tool employed to construct a portfolio in such a way that an investor is not overly exposed to any asset or risk.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/city-vs-property/
How can real estate investors think about constructing a diversified portfolio in an efficient and cost-effective manner? Investors do not necessarily need to spread themselves thin in order to thrive in portfolio diversification.
Brian Biggs, CFA, Research Director of Grosvenor Americas, and Madeleine Roberts, Research Analyst of Grosvenor Americas, talk about how the city lens is a powerful tool for diversified portfolio construction. By selecting a relatively small set of cities based on their long-run total returns relationships with one another, investors can build a portfolio that offers relative stability in uncertain times.
(Featuring Christopher Muoio, Vice President, Data and Research, Madison International Realty)
The COVID-19 pandemic has wrought massive shifts in behavior, as social distancing and other public health protocols have reshaped our daily lives. What does this mean for institutional investment in the office sector after COVID?
https://www.afire.org/podcast/institutional-investment-office-sector/
A wide-scale embrace of remote work and decentralized labor forces will have significant ramifications on the future demand for office space across the US. However, these narratives have been counterbalanced by companies such as Amazon and Facebook leasing additional office space in recent months, as they envision a future return to normalcy once the pandemic has subsided.
Given the potential impact remote work could have on office space demand and investments, determining its true scale is paramount. If remote work set-ups were not having negative impacts on company operations, and were viewed favorably by executives, then such impacts and views would need to be accounted for in the investment process and market selection—at least in the near- to medium-term.
In this podcast, Christopher Muoio, Vice President, Data and Research of Madison International Realty, talks about how his group used both traditional and alternative data analysis to get at the heart of the current remote work environment and the outlook for institutional investment in the office sector after COVID?
(Featuing Gleb Nechayev, CRE, Head of Research, Chief Economist, Berkshire Residential Investments)
The pandemic has rekindled the old debate about real estate dynamics in cities versus the suburbs. But real estate is cyclical, so to see what the future holds, watch the fundamentals.
https://www.afire.org/summit/shiftingtosuburbs/
Real estate investors should consider a couple of factors when deciding where to acquire or build the next property. Recent data does indeed show that multifamily and office properties in the suburbs are outperforming, a trend that is likely to continue in the near term.
To look beyond the immediate horizon, it helps to remember that real estate is cyclical and, as time progresses, property rents and prices always adjust so that the pendulum of tenant and investor demand swings in the other direction. Much depends now on how quick and material this adjustment in fundamentals will be over the next couple of years, as well as how much the sentiment towards living and working in high-density areas changes as a result of the pandemic.
Gleb Nechayev, CRE, Head of Research and Chief Economist of Berkshire Residential Investments provides insight on the impact COVID-19 on the investment landscape, specifically in the multi-family and office sectors.
(Featuring Gunnar Branson, CEO, AFIRE)
As COVID comes to define a new era, institutional investors in real estate will need to understand that prior strategies won't work like they once did.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/changing-paradigm
Online shopping, virtual work, and emerging technology are a few of the ways that COVID shaped the new reality. As trends continue to accelerate, new habits replace old ones, and unlike past events, these have personally impacted everyone to some extent.
What are people doing now and why? In order to understand the changing priorities in the real estate industry, there needs to be a closer observation in the way people are reacting to them. Working through Zoom calls, social distancing, and limited travel are seemingly normal now, but which new behaviors will become permanent?
Gunnar Branson, CEO of AFIRE, discusses the implications of COVID-19 on the investment landscape, and offers a new perspective on how to mitigate this new change.
(Featuring David C. Smith, Americas Head of Occupier Research, Cushman and Wakefield)
COVID forced an experiment at global scale to test productivity and culture in a work-from-home environment. Now that we're a year into the experiment, what's the future of the office sector ecosystem?
https://www.afire.org/podcast/office-space
With the coronavirus pandemic entering into its second year, a lot of occupiers are rethinking their real estate strategies. Investors are trying to find the right way to pivot and find new strategies for value creation in the midst of a large-scale workplace evolution.
As most workers, especially in the US, are not yet allowed or interested in returning to their offices, investors have the opportunity—and the urgency—to build out long-term scenario plans, strategize future decisions and investment philosophies, and understand the current field of options available. Latency in the office sector has opened up the possibility of new forms of thinking that rely on keeping occupiers productive and engaged within the evolving real estate landscape.
David Smith of Cushman and Wakefield provides recent insights on the four emerging, key purposes of office space, including a look at how occupiers are changing their own thinking around office use.
(Featuring Valeria Falcone, Managing Director, Portfolio Manager, Real Estate Country Head-Italy, Barings Real Estate, and Joe Gorin, Managing Director, Head of Portfolio Management and Value-Add Investing for the US Real Estate Equity, Barings Real Estate)
The pandemic altered assumptions about the real estate, including the shift in demand, location, and even the environment itself. Yet, at the center of the storm are the value-add investors who drive opportunity and risk when it comes to change.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/afirepodcast30-value-add
How is the value-add landscape changing because of the COVID-19 pandemic? It is evident that changes have been felt across product types and sectors like multifamily, industrial, office, retail, and e-commerce. In addition, the trends within these sectors accelerated quickly, proposing a new challenge for investors—meeting the demands that occupy the competitive industry to acquire value-add deals.
Despite the growing disparity between functional office spaces and obsolete office spaces, a disciplined approach to value-add investing is necessary to determine rent values for assets given the increase of population growth and migration patterns.
In this episode of the AFIRE Podcast, Joe Gorin and Valeria Falcone of Barings Real Estate discuss how the thematic approach in real estate is changing and what structural impacts it's having beyond the pandemic.
(Featuring Jonathan Ellenzweig, CIO, Tricon Residential)
Advancing automation, tech-driven amenities, and community building is key to winning—and keeping today’s tech-savvy residents.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/afirepodcast29residential
In a crowded residential marketplace of products, opportunities, and managers, how does an investor select the right investment? And how can investors outperform, especially during and after a worldwide pandemic?
It’s no secret that COVID-19 has forced many real estate companies to innovate by leveraging new technologies to maintain business continuity during the pandemic—within and beyond the residential sector. How can the ability to lead in innovation be translated into real estate, especially in a new world needing fast adaptation?
In this episode of the AFIRE Podcast, Jonathan Ellenzweig (Tricon Residential), discusses how consumer technology can also easily be integrated into residential assets to enhance the overall resident experience.
(Featuring Clyde Holland, CEO, Chairman, Byron Carlock, Real Estate Leader, PwC US, Martin Lamb, Managing Director, Global Head, Acquisition and Sales, Credit Suisse, Christopher Merrill, Co-Founder, Chairman, CEO, Harrison Street, and Bryan Sanchez, CIO, Lionstone Investments)
How will schools, retail, and hospitality need to change their business models in a post-COVID world?
https://www.afire.org/podcast/afirepodcast28
This podcast is a continuation of the conversation from AFIRE Podcast 24: The Future (Part II)
As COVID-19 continues to increase fear in communities, economies, and international relations, it’s necessary for investors to look into innovative alternatives, operations, and partnerships in order to rethink density-dependent real estate. Developing and enhancing relationships is going to be essential in creating long-term investment opportunities.
So how do we unlock the value of real estate that we have right now?
In the final episode of our special, three-part podcast series focused on the future, members of AFIRE’s Future Committee—chaired by Clyde Holland (Holland Partners Group), with Byron Carlock (PwC), Martin Lamb (Credit Suisse), Christopher Merrill (Harrison Street), and Bryan Sanchez (Lionstone Investments)—discuss the truth beneath restructuring challenged business models and improving social infrastructures through longevity.
(Featuring Amy Price, Managing Partner, Co-Head of US, BentallGreenOak, Steve McCarthy, Chair of Membership Committee, Head of North America, AXA Investment Management-Real Estate, and Jon Dishell, CCO, Gemini Rosemont)
How critical is it to develop new talent in a time where COVID-19 continues to disrupt the real estate landscape? AFIRE's Mentorship Committee weighs in on an emerging and novel approach to create new opportunities for today's rising leaders.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/afirepodcast27mentorship
While COVID-19 has caused a disruption in the work life dynamic by strict scheduling and the lack of informal communication, it stresses the importance of a distinct approach to corporate culture, investing in people.
At the core of mentorship is enhancing and supporting new talent, but only is it possible to foster these relationships when we broaden our perspectives of what it means to be a mentor today. With a limited talent pool, a structured approach to creating meaningful relationships is required.
In this episode, Amy Price (BentallGreenOak), Steve McCarthy (AXA IM), and Jon Dishell (Gemini Rosemont), discusses the three-tier industry-wide approach they are taking to improve mentorship relationships within commercial real estate.
(Featuring Cedrik Lachance, EVP, Director of Global Research, Green Street)
The demand for urban space continues to rise as the promise of a post-vaccine world emerges on the horizon.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/afirepodcast26newreality
With light now at the end of the tunnel, the trend of rapid urbanization in core markets continues to accelerate, despite the emerging challenges from the pandemic.
Accepting a new reality is part of that challenge. Working from home has led to rethinking the needs for office sector environments. As employers become more flexible, it is important to review tax, infrastructure, and budget deficits to determine how much space is actually needed.
Cedrik Lachance, EVP, Director of Global REIT Research at Green Street, discusses how the office sector is affected, and why it's transforming the real estate market.
(Featuring G. Andrews Smith, CEO, Managing Director, L&B Realty Advisors)
All corners of the commercial real estate arena are facing era-defining challenges. Transparency matters—now more than ever.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/afirepodcast25transparency
What holds promise for improving the business relationships we depend on for making better investments? Being intentional and open in our dealings with our investors, employees, and communities will bring closeness to all our relationships—particularly those between managers and investors.
The natural progression of technology is a driving factor for transparency in the workplace. So-called "best practices" are changing rapidly. The best results bring tomorrow's "new practices." It is important to look at how different approaches to transparency affect a company's culture and the role that organizational leadership plays in implementing these approaches.
In this episode of the AFIRE Podcast, G. Andrews Smith, CEO and Managing Director at L&B Realty, talks about the need for transparency, not only during COVID-19, but also to meet the expanding landscape of the real estate industry.
(Featuring Clyde Holland, CEO, Chairman, Byron Carlock, Real Estate Leader, PwC US, Martin Lamb, Managing Director, Global Head, Acquisition and Sales, Credit Suisse, Christopher Merrill, Co-Founder, Chairman, CEO, Harrison Street, and Bryan Sanchez, CIO, Lionstone Investments)
Due to COVID-19, are we facing an urban exodus—or is it the natural outcome of generational change?
https://www.afire.org/podcast/afirefuturepodcast2
As COVID-19 has increased fear in communities, economies, and international relations, it’s crucial for investors to look into and assess the trends that real estate has been following for the past several decades: urbanization of gateway cities and innovation centers; the lifestyle attraction component; and the denser communities contributing to longer commutes. Together, these three trends underscore the increasingly critical role of technology in advancing economic, business, and talent development.
COVID-19 doesn’t change these trends—it accelerates them.
In this second episode of our special, three-part podcast series focused on the future, members of AFIRE’s Future Committee—chaired by Clyde Holland (Holland Partners Group), with Byron Carlock (PwC), Martin Lamb (Credit Suisse), Christopher Merrill (Harrison Street), and Bryan Sanchez (Lionstone Investments)—discuss the importance of separating fear from reality when looking at and beyond our known horizons in real estate.
This podcast is a continuation of the conversation from AFIRE Podcast 22: The Future (Part I) https://www.afire.org/podcast/afirefuturepodcast1
(Featuring Andrew Garrett, Senior Principle, Real Estate, IMCO)
How does retail adapt to disaster? The Great Toronto Fire of 1904 is a leading example of how drastic events can create a better future.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/retail-post-catastrophe
The retail investment industry has historically always been impacted the hardest during large-scale catastrophes. The SARS 2002-2004 outbreak and the H1N1 pandemic in 2009 serve as reminders of the harsh implications and desperate measures that undergo these events. Despite the changes in landscape and infrastructure, one thing is certain. There is always a way to bring people back together.
In this episode of the AFIRE podcast, Andrew Garrett at Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (IMCO) examines how events such as the Great Toronto Fire have highlighted how a population's perception of safety is crucial to investing in retail across real estate channels.
(Featuring Clyde Holland, CEO, Chairman, Byron Carlock, Real Estate Leader, PwC US, Martin Lamb, Managing Director, Global Head, Acquisition and Sales, Credit Suisse, Christopher Merrill, Co-Founder, Chairman, CEO, Harrison Street, and Bryan Sanchez, CIO, Lionstone Investments)
After COVID-19, will we be facing the end of the world—or simply the end of the world as we know it?
https://www.afire.org/podcast/afirefuturepodcast1
Even as COVID-19 has heightened uncertainty in communities, economies, and international relations, it’s critical for investors to step back and look at the trends that the real estate has been following for the past several decades: urbanization of gateway cities and innovation centers; the concentration of the creative class; and the advent of the knowledge economy. Together, these three trends underscore the increasingly critical role of technology in advancing economic, business, and talent development.
COVID-19 doesn’t change these trends—it accelerates them.
AFIRE’s Future Committee—chaired by Clyde Holland (Holland Partners Group), with Byron Carlock (PwC), Martin Lamb (Credit Suisse), Chris Merrill (Harrison Street), and Bryan Sanchez (Lionstone Investments)—discuss the importance of separating fear from reality when looking at and beyond our known horizons in real estate.
Listen to a continuation of the conversation here: https://www.afire.org/podcast/afirefuturepodcast2
(Featuring Bryan Sanchez, CIO, Lionstone Investments, and Hans Nordby, Head of Research and Analytics, Lionstone Investments)
Though mixed-used developments aren't immune to COVID-19-related disruptions, demand is likely to grow as the pandemic subsides.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/mixed-use
Though mixed-used developments aren't immune to COVID-19-related disruptions, demand is likely to grow as the pandemic subsides.
The digital era has significantly altered the lifestyles and housing preferences of the average American. Those changes have dramatically shifted the real estate investments best positioned for success.
In this new AFIRE Podcast, AFIRE sits down with Bryan Sanchez, Chief Investment Officer, and Hans Nordby, Head of Research and Analytics, at Lionstone Investments, as they share insights on the increasing demand for mixed-use developments during COVID-19.
From economic shifts that have normalized dual-income families, to cultural changes that have created a society focused on convenience, multiple factors have driven a return to urban living. As a result, mixed-use communities (MUCs) that integrate residential and commercial space have become extremely popular. And in the wake of COVID-19, demand is only expected to increase.
(Featuring Amanda Davis, Leadership Content Manager, Measurabl, and Sara Anzinger, Senior Vice President, Capital Markets, Measurabl)
Sustainability—with ESG (environmental, social, governance) data as its prevailing metric—is far from a new business concern. Though ESG may have only recently caught fire in the commercial real estate industry, investors have long been aware of its power to illuminate a company’s ability to maintain profitability, retain talent, and withstand unexpected disasters and disruptions.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/digitize-esg
In the midst of a global pandemic, every industry is racing to adjust its business practices to meet new demands and prepare for an uncertain future. What does this mean for real estate finance and ESG?
Amanda Davis, Content Manager at Measurabl, talks about how COVID-19 has certainly underscored the relevance and importance of ESG and how it has become a valuable indicator of a company’s ability to withstand future shocks.
(Featuring Gleb Nechayev, Head of Research, Chief Economist, Berkshire Residential Investments)
Do people follow jobs, or is it the other way around? The answer depends on where we are in a business cycle.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/migrationpatterns
During recessions, people tend to move towards markets where employment prospects are better, and as recoveries take hold, businesses usually expand into areas where people want to live. As the COVID-19 virus spreads around the world, it introduces a whole new dimension to the question: do people follow jobs, or do jobs follow people? Today, the answer is as much about public health as it is about the interplay of economics and demographics.
Gleb Nechayev, Head of Research and Chief Economist of Berkshire Residential Investments, looks at how migration during COVID-19 affects economic growth and real estate fundamentals across markets and within.
(Featuring John D'Angelo, Managing Director, Deliotte Consulting)
With automation, machine learning, and other "smart" tech disrupting the employment market, COVID-19 isn't the only threat to skills development for rising talent. For growing the next generation of leadership, what needs to change?
https://www.afire.org/podcast/digitalevolution/
With current work-from-home regulations in place as a result of COVID-19, it's critical for investors to reevaluate their "Digital DNA” in order to strengthen their teams and evolve their leadership strategies.
Just because we've done training, recruitment, team building, and leadership a certain way in the past—is that how we should do it into the future? In this episode of the AFIRE Podcast, John D'Angelo, Managing Director at Deloitte Consulting, talks about how real estate approaches technology, training, and innovation as a means to develop and support future leaders in our industry.
(Featuring G. Evan Bennett, Founder, Managing Member, Anthology Capital)
The demographic data for baby boomers has long been a routine talking point for medical science and technology, and the surprise of Generation X, where’s the sector headed next?
www.afire.org/podcast/medicalofficebabyboomcast/
The convergence of demographics, constant advancements in medical science, and the distinct social attitudes of baby boomers has been forecasted to drive medical office demand for several years. Predictions and analyses for Generation X, with its lower birth rates and differing attitudes, introduces some key questions to the outlook for the overall sector, but a closer look at the data suggests that impacts of the generational transition are not as ominous as some may think.
In this episode, G. Evan Bennett, Founder and Managing Member of Anthology Capital, looks at how constant changes in demographics over the next few decades will affect the future of medical office investments.
(Featuring Anthony Cazazian, Managing Director, Head of US Residential Real Estate, Man Global Private Markets)
The demographic transition from baby boomers to millennials spells increased demand for single-family rentals in the coming decades. According to Man GPM, supply needs to keep up.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/newgenerationsfr/
“OK, boomer.”
The somewhat condescending term applied by Millennials to those born in the decades after World War II has morphed into a meme that encapsulates the gulf in priorities between these two very different generations.
“OK, boomer” takes on a slightly different meaning when used in the context of the single-family rental (SFR) market, though. US population growth and demographics trends could indicate increasing SFR demand over the coming decades, and supply may well fail to keep up. Indeed, when it comes to SFR, a new, different boomer generation—millennials who are just now entering the key home-building phase of their lives—is good news for the sector.
In this episode, Anthony Cazazian, Managing Director and Head of US Residential Real Estate for Man Global Private Markets (Man GPM), talks about the future of residential markets and changing demographics.
(Featuring P. Allen Smith, landscape designer, conservationist, author, and television host)
Landscape designer, conservationist, author, and television host P. Allen Smith discusses the shift towards walkability, density, and community accelerated by the COVID-19 crisis.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/lookingforcommunity/
With more drastic climate change effects on the near horizon, and COVID-19 still in the room, it will be critical for investors to track policies and regulations alongside changing social attitudes. As the pandemic continues, healthy buildings aren’t just engineering novelties and shiny facades for trade magazines—they’re the new baseline for ensuring safe experiences in the built environment at all scales, including an increasingly popular trend in sustainable, walkable, and community-focused exurban developments.
In this podcast, P. Allen Smith, prolific designer, author, and host of the P. Allen Smith's Garden Home and P. Allen Smith's Garden to Table series on American Public Television (and keynote speaker at this year's AFIRE Winter Conference in New York) discusses the need for a shift in thinking about value in real estate. What's the real difference between real estate that takes a myopic view of maximizing value per square foot, with little regard for context, and more thoughtful and integrated approaches to urban design, development, and value creation?
(Featuring Melinda McLaughlin, Vice President of Research for Prologis)
COVID-19 and logistics: What have we learned so far, and what will be the lasting impact on the sector as it faces a new stay-at-home economy?
https://www.afire.org/podcast/prologissupplydemand
COVID-19 has put an end to the lengthy global economic expansion. Estimates of the magnitude and duration of the negative impact of the pandemic span a broad range.
On the demand side, economic activity has been suppressed as consumers are constrained by restrictions, fear, and/or job loss. On the supply side, disruption in the production and movement of goods (and people) around the world has tested complex supply chains. Logistics real estate users have had to handle both a shortage of goods and a subsequent replenishment surge. Demand for space will continue to evolve as consumer behaviors and supply chains shift.
To build an understanding of the impact of COVID-19 on logistics real estate, AFIRE recently sat down with Melinda McLaughlin, Vice President of Research for Prologis, to talk about the stay-at-home economy, the Recovery, and the new normal.
(Featuring Martha Peyton, PhD, CRE, Managing Director of Real Assets Applied Research, Aegon Asset Management Real Assets)
Understanding new changes in tenant demand, economics, and public health will be critical to the future of commercial real estate investing.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/rightsizingcre/
All real estate investors are focused on the potential paths for the global economy and commercial real estate (CRE) over the quarters ahead. Some are focusing on stressed tenants, shrinking rent collections, uncertain property values, and surviving through the distress. Others are examining their dry powder and trolling for investment opportunities.
For both types of investors, weighing the potential paths forward requires addressing three challenges: (1) the coronavirus, (2) the economy, and (3) tenant demand.
In this episode, Martha Peyton, PhD, CRE, Managing Director of Real Assets Applied Research for Aegon Asset Management Real Assets discusses the future of commercial real estate investing.
(Featuring John Kennedy, Managing Director and Head of Real Estate Asset Management – US, Barings Real Estate, and Rob Little, Head of Real Estate Debt Underwriting and Servicing, Barings Real Estate)
The asset management function is always integral to long-term value creation in real estate, but the COVID-19 crisis has served as a fresh reminder of just how crucial this role is for navigating challenging conditions.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/assetmanagementcrisis/
The spread of COVID-19 across the globe and the rippling effects across all geographies have left no segment of the economy untouched. Real estate markets are no exception. From deserted office buildings to shuttered storefronts and empty hotels, the impact has been more severe than many investors’ downside scenario analyses would have predicted. Yet, global real estate markets still offer potentially attractive returns over the long term—across a wide variety of sectors and risk types—if investors can effectively navigate the current storm. Critical to this effort are the asset managers themselves—also known as the “eyes on the asset.”
In this episode, John Kennedy and Rob Little of Barings Real Estate talk about lessons learned and emerging best practices for the post-COVID future of asset management in real estate.
(Featuring Jayanth Ganesan, Real Estate Research Analyst, Nuveen)
The economic impact of COVID-19 will not be felt equally across the US. Which metros are well-positioned for life after coronavirus (and why)?
https://www.afire.org/podcast/resilientcities/
With social and leisure events canceled, many stores and offices closed, and malls and airports well below capacity, the coronavirus pandemic may seem like a unique economic challenge that will fundamentally change how metro-level economies function.
However, new analyses from Nuveen Real Estate suggest that cities with high exposure to non-cyclical industries based in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), and strong demographic trends, will see a much less severe economic impact from the coronavirus pandemic than cities with high exposure to cyclical, overvalued, or undercapitalized industries, and weak macro drivers.
So after COVID-19, which metros will fare best? Nuveen Real Estate research analyst Jayanth Ganesan has some ideas.
(Featuring Gunnar Branson, CEO, AFIRE)
Around the world, 2020 has been rife with public health anxieties, civil unrest, and economic uncertainty—nothing new for real estate, but what does it mean for the future?
https://www.afire.org/podcast/realestatereckoning/
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, systemic inequity and injustice are now in high relief and can no longer be ignored or put aside, especially as those less fortunate endure the worst impacts of this crisis. The Black Lives Matter protests in the US, provoked in part by yet another incident of police brutality, have been a wake-up call characterized by strong language, painful stories, and uncomfortable truths.
What responsibility do institutional investors in real estate have to cities, communities, and stakeholders during a time of global cultural change?
This podcast is based on the article "A Real Estate Reckoning" from Summit Journal (Summer 2020).
(Featuring Maggie Coleman, Senior Managing Director, Co-Head of International Capitol, JLL)
In this unpredictable environment of the COVID-19 pandemic, halfway through 2020, how should global investors treat the US property market right now?
https://www.afire.org/podcast/maggiecolemanjll/
Half a year into the COVID-19 crisis, some US cities are still dealing with severe spikes of the disease, while other regions have the pandemic under relative control. How should investors act today, and in the future, as markets emerge from the damaging effects of the pandemic?
Maggie Coleman, Senior Managing Director and Co-Head of International Capital for JLL, offers a macro- and micro-view of the global investment outlook through the rest of 2020. While widespread and pronounced disruption of COVID-19 has weighed on transaction volume and other Q2 declines, Coleman emphasizes the bright spots on the global investment horizon, and possible paths forward for institutional investors.
(Featuring Nicholas Garattini, Head of Investor Relations and Business Development, Generali Real Estate)
Typically, institutional investment is attracted to sure and stable assets—so what should institutional investors do during a time of economic and social change?
https://www.afire.org/podcast/afirepodcast08/
Nicholas Garattini, head of investor relations and business development at Generali Real Estate in Italy discusses the role of institutional real estate investors to support positive social change as they put the savings of regular people to work.
(Featuring Peter Grey-Wolf, Vice President, Wealthcap)
The office isn’t dead, but after COVID-19, it’s going to be forever changed. Peter Grey-Wolf, Vice President for WealthCap, has some ideas for where the office is going next.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/afirepodcast07/
As some people in some cities begin to return to their offices after months of stay-at-home orders around the world, investors are thinking through the potential long-term impacts for office.
Peter Grey-Wolf, who runs real estate investing in North America for WealthCap, joins AFIRE for our latest podcast to talk through a few of the short-term and long-term possibilities for the sector—especially for cross-border investors.
(Featuring Joshua Benaim, Principal, Co-Founder, Aria Development Group)
Joshua Benaim talks about the surprising things we can learn from the arts to create better multifamily portfolios.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/afirepodcast06/
Joshua Benaim is Principal and Co-Founder of Aria Development Group, a multifamily investor, developer, and manager in New York City that has a portfolio in multiple cities on the east coast of the US.
In the latest AFIRE Podcast, Benaim shares insight about apartments both during and after the COVID-19 crisis, and what we can learn about the sector from history, experience, and opera.
(Featuring Byron Carlock, US Real Estate Practice Leader, PwC)
A conversation with Byron Carlock, US Real Estate Practice Leader, PwC, on the future of the built environment.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/afirepodcast02/
In the early months of COVID-19, life dramatically changed for everyone—but in this next phase of this crisis, as people start to go back to work and school, how should real estate change?
PwC’s US Real Estate Practice Leader Byron Carlock, Jr talks about how real estate will transform in the months to come and the forces driving that change.
(Featuring Jeff Adler, Vice President, Yardi Matrix)
Political risk in the US is usually seen mostly through a national lens, but what can we learn by understanding risk at the city level?
https://www.afire.org/podcast/afirepodcast05/
By building a mechanism to quantify and understanding political risk at the metro-level across the US, unexpected insights and comparisons for real estate investors can emerge.
In this episode, Jeff Adler, Vice President of Yardi Matrix, talks about mapping political risk in the US.
(Featuring Gunnar Branson, CEO, AFIRE, Lexie Miller, COO, AFIRE, Benjamin Van Loon, Communications Director, AFIRE, and Asmait Tewelde, Meeting Director, AFIRE)
What is AFIRE doing to help members stay connected during COVID-19?
https://www.afire.org/podcast/afirepodcast00/(opens in a new tab)
Association meetings are impossible at a time of COVID-19, so how can members stay connected?
In this inaugural AFIRE Podcast, the AFIRE Staff describes some of the ways they are working to support connection in a virtual environment and explains some of the programming available to everyone.
(Featuring Jane Page, CEO, Lionstone Investments, and Bryan Sanchez, CIO, Lionstone Investments)
A conversation with Jane Page and Bryan Sanchez of Lionstone Investments on what crises teach about leadership.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/afirepodcast01/
As COVID-19 alters so much in our lives, the stress and uncertainty challenges leaders to understand better how to manage the very human needs and capabilities of everyone. At the same time, the lessons we are learning right now, will make us all better leaders in the future.
Jane Page and Bryan Sanchez of Lionstone Investments have fascinating and eye-opening insights on how to learn and thrive today.
(Featuring Christoph Donner, CEO, Allianz Real Estate of America)
The world of real estate and portfolio strategy will change after COVID-19, but in what ways?
Beyond the immediate disruption and crisis of COVID-19, how will real estate and real estate portfolios change over the long-term?
Allianz Real Estate of America CEO Christoph Donner talks about the long-term trends he’s watching now that will shape our post-COVID world.
(Featuring John D’Angelo, Managing Director, Deloitte Consulting)
A conversation with John D’Angelo, Managing Director at Deloitte Consulting, on using data to gain clarity and build transparency during critical times.
https://www.afire.org/podcast/afirepodcast03/
Especially in uncertain times, the need for clarity, accuracy, and transparency to the many assets in real estate portfolios only increases.
How should one approach that now in a time of crisis? Deloitte Consulting Managing Director John D’Angelo talks about how real estate’s approach to data can be transformed as we move through COVID-19.