

#391 - Chad Lavender - President of Capital Markets, North America @ Newmark
32 snips Sep 2, 2025
Chad Lavender, President of Capital Markets, North America at Newmark, shares his journey in commercial real estate, starting during the 2008 financial crisis. He reveals how he built a leading senior housing brokerage and navigated tough markets through persistence and long-term relationships. Chad discusses the rise of alternative assets like senior housing and data centers, plus insights on the current real estate landscape, including the resurgence of office spaces and growth in build-to-rent housing.
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Early Career Shaped By 2008 Downturn
- Chad Lavender started in high-rise development in 2008 and learned every role from negotiating with lenders to weed-eating the buildings.
- The downturn forced hands-on experience that shaped his understanding of development and capital structures.
Cold Calling Legends To Break In
- Chad cold-called industry legends in Dallas and set up 82 meetings in six months to pivot into transactions during the downturn.
- He landed an analyst role and cold-called class C apartment owners to get meetings and early deals.
Launching Seniors Housing Business
- Chad and Ryan McConaughey launched a seniors housing brokerage from scratch and won early assignments from Starwood and Carlisle.
- Those early wins established their track record and moved them into top-tier, high-value deals.