The CRE Weekly Digest by LightBox CRE Appraisals in Focus – Valuations, Refis & the Data Center Boom with Craig Benton of Synovus Financial
The CRE Weekly Digest team is joined by Craig Benton, Director of Valuation Services at Synovus Financial, to unpack the state of commercial real estate from the appraisal and lending POV. The team kicks off with a scorecard on Craig’s 2024 CRE predictions, earning nearly straight A’s for calling sector-specific downturns, rate cuts, and the timing of deal volume recovery and shares where values are rising, stabilizing, or slipping as we head deeper into 2025. The conversation spans tariffs and construction costs, insurance trends, the wave (or lack thereof) of loan maturities, and why grocery-anchored retail remains a safe haven. Craig also dives into the rise of data centers as billion-dollar assets, the training challenges facing the appraisal profession, and how AI is reshaping valuation work. While bullish on CRE overall, Craig is clear-eyed about the long-term uncertainty facing office and weaker malls. It’s a wide-ranging, data-rich look at how valuations are shaping the next phase of the cycle.
01:10 Grading Craig’s 2024 Predictions
03:24 Market Pulse Check
06:02 Inside the Appraisal Process
10:28 Career Path & Appraisal Challenges
14:16 Refis, Distress & the “Maturity Tsunami” That Never Came
19:00 Asset Class Outlook: Retail resilience, multifamily shifts & the data center boom
27:36 AI in Appraisals & What Market Value Really Means
Have questions for the pod team? Send them to Podcast@LightBoxRE.com.
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