Nareit's REIT Report Podcast

Tim Bodner, global and U.S. real estate deals leader at PwC, was a guest on the latest episode of the REIT Report podcast.Bodner commented on the current state of real estate transaction activity, how different property segments are faring, opportunities amid today’s challenging environment, strategies being used to get deals done, and more.During the interview, Bodner noted that:It’s a “much more challenging” deal environment today than it was previously.Pockets of strength are emerging across the real estate landscape, including logistics, self-storage, areas of the hospitality sector, experiential real estate, and even office.The most important factor in terms of getting deals done today is the stability of the underlying trends that are driving activity in a particular sector.

Julie Whelan, global head of occupier research at CBRE, was a guest on the latest episode of the Nareit REIT Report podcast.During the interview, Whelan discussed broad office occupancy trends, changes in how office space is utilized, the flight to quality, the role of flexible office space, the importance of an office’s location, and more.Among Whelan’s key takeaways were:Net effective rents, that account for landlord concessions, are continuing to grow at the top tier of the office market.In some cases, the rent differential between top quality and lower quality office space has never been greater.A great office building alone isn’t enough. “Buildings have to be in great submarkets right now,” and that means mixed-use environments.“The office has a really exciting role to play in the future of how cities are reinvented.” Office space is going to be in a transformative phase as it plays a key role in the evolution of mixed-use locations.

Nina Galbiati, Norges Bank’s global lead sustainability for real estate, was a guest on a special episode of Nareit’s REIT Report podcast.Norges Bank is a long-term investor that has roughly 4.1% of their global investment portfolio invested in real estate, with about half of that allocated to public REITs. With the firm’s focus on maximizing risk-adjusted returns, Norges has been an influential leader in promoting the adoption of sustainability for real estate companies globally for many years.On this episode of the REIT Report, Galbiati joined Nareit’s Senior Vice President of Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability Jessica Long to discuss how the real estate industry is addressing a key challenge of decarbonization planning and the importance of real estate companies in the U.S. clearly disclosing their strategy, decision making, and targets around key environmental matters.“Real estate is facing tremendous pressure to decarbonize. This is partly regulatory pressure, but it’s definitely coming from a shift in demand from tenants as well as investors. We don’t think the current market valuation is pricing those risks adequately today,” Galbiati said.

David Stafford, deputy chief investment officer at The City of Austin Employees' Retirement System (COAERS), was a guest on the latest episode of Nareit’s REIT Report Podcast.During the interview, Stafford discussed COAERS’ decision to use REITs as part of a portfolio completion strategy starting in early 2020—an approach that has been successful for the fund and one that it continues to assess on an ongoing basis. He also spoke about the importance of having a mindset attuned to trying a new investment approach, the benefits that REITs provide to COAERS, market issues that COAERS is watching, advice for funds considering a change in strategy, and more.COAERS is a defined benefit plan that administers retirement benefits for regular employees of the city of Austin and currently serves about 19,000 current, inactive, and retired members. The system’s investments total approximately $3 billion and are broadly diversified across asset classes including equities, real assets, fixed income, multi-asset strategies, commodities, and cash.

John Vojticek, global head of liquid real assets at DWS, a global asset manager with nearly $1 trillion of assets under management, was a guest on the latest episode of the REIT Report podcast.Vojticek commented on the operating environment for listed REITs, DWS’s recommendations for using REITs in conjunction with private real estate to complete portfolios, the access REITs provide to emerging asset classes, the benefits of global investment in REITs, and more.

Uma Moriarity, senior investment strategist at CenterSquare Investment Management, was a guest on the latest episode of Nareit’s REIT Report podcast.Moriarity spoke about how REITs are faring in the current interest rate climate, how their valuations compare to private real estate, REITs and their position in the capital markets, property sectors that CenterSquare is bullish on, and more.A pause in interest rate hikes is generally expected to occur at the next Federal Reserve meeting, Moriarity said. While some are expecting a subsequent rate hike in July, “it’s fair to say that we're closer to the end (of the rate hike cycle) than we are to the beginning,” she added.

Andrew Duffy, co-founder, managing partner, chief investment officer, and senior portfolio manager of Ranger Global Real Estate Advisors, an independent investment advisor, was a guest on the latest episode of Nareit’s REIT Report podcast.Duffy spoke about: the state of commercial real estate today and how Ranger Global distinguishes between the performance of geographies and property types; the appeal of next generation property types; the advantages and risks of investing domestically versus globally; the dislocation between listed and private real estate; and the benefits of investing in listed real estate funds.

Chris Benjamin, CEO of Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. (NYSE: ALEX), was a guest on the latest episode of Nareit’s REIT Report podcast.Benjamin, who will step down as CEO on June 30, reflected on his tenure at A&B, why supporting community organizations has played an important complement to his executive role, the transformation the company has undergone and its decision to convert to a REIT, changing the culture of A&B and its progress on DEI issues, and more.Benjamin said that now is a good time for a transition in leadership, given that “we have nearly completed the significant transformation that we’ve gone through as a company.” The leadership change also coincides with Benjamin’s 60 th birthday, a point at which he is eager to pursue new interests. Lance Parker, currently A&B's president & COO, has been appointed president & CEO effective July 1.

John Haskell, founder and chief investment officer at Atla Capital Management LLC, was a guest on the latest episode of the Nareit REIT Report.During the interview, Haskell talked about the opportunities from investing in global emerging market listed real estate, the scope of the market, the key theme of urbanization, challenges posed by the lack of reporting standardization, the potential shelter that emerging markets offer relative to other markets, and more.Haskell manages the Atla Global Urbanization Listed Fund. A key theme for the fund is urbanization, and the opportunities presented by the rapid rise of emerging market cities.“The greatest social and economic transformations in the world today are in developing countries and it all comes down, in my opinion, to urbanization. While developed cities have mostly plateaued in population growth, emerging market cities are inflecting in population and in wealth,” Haskell said.

Jonathan Miniman, global portfolio manager and head of the Americas real estate securities research team at CBRE Investment Management, was a guest on the latest episode of the Nareit REIT Report.During the interview, Miniman discussed: concerns impacting commercial real estate—including the banking crisis; potential opportunities for REITs in the months ahead; the role REITs can play in conjunction with private real estate; and the role that active managers can play for REIT investors.Miniman said that the repricing of REITs that occurred last year, coupled with a likely near-term pausing in interest rate hikes, provide a “catalyst” for the asset class going forward.“The listed market has taken a whole lot of the pain already,” Miniman said. He noted that in the past four historical interest rate increase cycles, listed REITs have started to gain ground about three months prior to the final increase.