The TreppWire Podcast: A Commercial Real Estate Show 368. In the Eye of the Commercial Real Estate Storm with Michael Comparato, Benefit Street Partners
Dec 16, 2025
In this engaging conversation, Michael Comparato, President of FBRT and Senior Managing Director at Benefit Street Partners, shares insights from his extensive commercial real estate background. He discusses the current market turmoil, emphasizing that we’re only in the eye of the storm and why a V-shaped recovery is unlikely. Michael highlights the importance of understanding property stories over mere spreadsheets and warns of the risks still lurking in the market. He also identifies investment opportunities, particularly in core multifamily and industrial while navigating the challenges of office properties.
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Born Into Real Estate
- Michael Comparato grew up in a family real estate business and worked construction and TI from age 3 to his teens.
- That upbringing shaped his development-first lens when underwriting deals and assessing real asset fundamentals.
One-Stop Real Estate Platform
- Benefit Street built a one-stop real estate platform spanning debt, equity, CMBS and agency lending.
- That vertical optionality lets them offer borrowers construction to permanent capital and cross-sell products internally.
Underwrite The Story, Not Just Models
- Prioritize the underwriting story over spreadsheet outputs and validate assumptions against real-world property dynamics.
- Check parking, floor plates, market, and sponsor quality rather than relying solely on a model's metrics.