Nareit's REIT Report Podcast

Bill Hughes, managing director, liquid strategies at Digital Bridge Investment Management, joined the latest episode of the REIT Report podcast. He discussed opportunities in listed real estate and REITs for institutional investors, the impact of liquidity on market dynamics, the importance of strategic portfolio construction in relation to interest rates, and more.Hughes noted that now is an “interesting time” for institutional investors to be thinking about their allocation to public real estate, where a number of higher quality assets are trading at material discounts to private market values. He described the public markets as having “a decent number of mispriced and interesting” investments available right now.During the interview he also noted that for DigitalBridge, focusing capital into “idiosyncratic stories within a fairly rich and diverse opportunity set that is the REIT market” provides its investors with exposure to investments that are significantly different from what they can find in the private markets or in a market cap weighted index.

In this episode, Sarah Borchersen-Keto and Uma Moriarity, senior investment strategist at CenterSquare Investment Management, discuss the implications of recent Federal Reserve decisions on interest rates and their impact on REITs and the commercial real estate market. They explore historical trends in REIT performance, current investor sentiment, and the valuation differences between public and private real estate markets. Moriarity shares insights on high conviction property types and strategies for building resilient portfolios amidst economic uncertainty.

Stacey McEvoy, partner at Hogan Lovells, was a guest on the latest episode of the REIT Report podcast. She discussed REIT transaction activity, capital raising, legal and regulatory issues facing the industry, and more. McEvoy noted that REITs demonstrated resilience in the first half of 2025 and pointed out that those REITs that have maintained disciplined balance sheets have been the most successful at navigating market volatility. “I do think the modest positive performance that REITs have experienced during these uncertain times have left them well-positioned to achieve stronger performance in 2026 as the markets stabilize,” she said. McEvoy also said the market is continuing to feel the effects of the high cost of capital from the last couple of years, along with higher cap rates. “And although those have been declining, investor sentiment remains cautious. As a result, transaction volume has been down.” 

Chad Lavender, president of capital Markets for North America at Newmark, was a guest on the latest episode of the REIT Report podcast. Lavender discussed REIT capital market activity today, including solid demand for larger asset portfolios, REIT sectors where capital is being deployed extensively, the anticipated wave of investment in alternative asset classes, and more. Lavender noted that capital market activity for the health care sector, particularly senior housing, has outperformed other asset classes over the past couple of years. Meanwhile, office REITs have also been active on the acquisition front, he noted, with many opting for JV partnerships in the process. Sovereign wealth funds in the Middle East and Asia continue to be active JV partners with REITs, he added. As for interest in alternative assets, Lavender described a “huge wave of investing,” pointing out that the digital infrastructure and data center boom “is a modern day gold rush.”

Earnest Sweat, a tech innovation expert, was a guest on the latest edition of the REIT Report podcast. In the last of a three-part miniseries, Sweat continued to examine the intersection of AI with the REIT sector, focusing on how REITs can evaluate AI pilots, partnerships, and capabilities. Sweat is a venture capitalist and general partner at Stresswood, an early-stage fund focused on backing exceptional founders building the next wave of enterprise technology. During the interview, Sweat discussed critical questions a REIT leader should ask before launching an AI initiative, as well as how REITs can balance the promise of AI with the reality of implementation, and how REIT leaders should effectively communicate the value and purpose of AI initiatives to their teams. 

Craig Ramiro, executive vice president of asset management at Armada Hoffler Properties, Inc. (NYSE: AHH), joined the latest episode of the REIT Report podcast. He discussed the company’s focus on creating value—including repositioning and redevelopment opportunities across the portfolio—as well as the strong demand it sees for its class-A office properties. Ramiro noted that Armada Hoffler is benefitting from the supply-demand imbalance for top office space in the best locations. In Baltimore, for example, where the REIT has 1.6 million square feet of office space, Ramiro pointed to a “pretty astounding” level of corporate relocations. 

Mark Wojteczko, Deloitte’s national real estate funds co-leader, was a guest on the latest episode of Nareit’s REIT Report podcast. He reviewed findings from a recent Deloitte report into the rise of alternative property types and how upcoming changes in corporate leadership could accelerate that trend. “We do believe that the emergence of these alternative property types is going to accelerate in the future and that many next-gen leaders are going to be a big part of that,” Wojteczko said, referring to an anticipated pick-up in c-suite retirements within the next decade. “We believe that the appetite for some of these younger executives to really continue to focus on the alternative property types as an investable universe is significant and something that we're certainly monitoring here.” 

In this special episode of the REIT Report, part of an ongoing series, “Building Resilience,” covering issues facing the REIT industry as it remains focused on investing for the long term, Michael Reed, senior director of building transformation at the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), joins Nareit’s Jessica Long, senior vice president of environmental stewardship and sustainability. They discuss the organization’s experience working with the commercial real estate community to advance energy efficiency, delivering benefits to the energy system more broadly, including reliability and resilience.Reed shares how NYSERDA has evolved in the 50 years since it was founded as the state’s atomic energy agency in the 1970s. “The mission of having energy work for, and benefit, New Yorkers, making that energy as reliable and affordable as possible, has not wavered. The challenges as we look towards the future intersect with this conversation on resilience because our climate in New York and across the world is getting hotter. There's more moisture in the air, leading to extreme weather events, but also making the job of operating buildings harder.” 

Earnest Sweat, a tech innovation expert, was a guest on the latest edition of the REIT Report podcast. In the second of a three-part miniseries, Sweat continued to examine the intersection of AI with the REIT sector, focusing on real world solutions that are transforming the industry. Sweat is a venture capitalist and general partner at Stresswood, an early-stage fund focused on backing exceptional founders building the next wave of enterprise technology. Sweat stressed that AI allows humans “to do what they do best…show empathy, be creative, be influential, and make sales.” At the same time, he underlined the importance of “really thinking about what you are doing today, what is the process, and how could this potential technology improve it,” in addition to setting definitive key performance indicators. 

In this special episode of the REIT Report, part of an ongoing series, “Building Resilience,” covering issues facing the REIT industry as it remains focused on investing for the long term, Deborah Cloutier, chief sustainability officer of Legence and the president and founder of RE Tech Advisors, joins Nareit’s Jessica Long, senior vice president of environmental stewardship and sustainability, to discuss her perspective on the evolution of sustainability as part of strategic planning for building owners. She also looks at the role of data, engineering and skilled trades in advancing ROI-backed solutions that improve efficiency, resilience, and asset value. Cloutier shares how Legence is a leading provider of engineering, consulting, installation, and maintenance services for mission-critical systems in buildings, making them more energy efficient, resilient, and sustainable.