Nareit's REIT Report Podcast

Gina Szymanski, managing director and lead portfolio manager, North America REITs, at AEW Capital Management, was a guest on the latest episode of the REIT Report podcast.Szymanski noted that a lot of discussion at Nareit’s REITweek: 2024 Investor Conference focused on the capital markets backdrop and what that means for transaction activity.

Julie Whelan, global head of occupier thought leadership at CBRE, was a guest on the latest episode of the REIT Report podcast.Whelan discussed the findings of a new CBRE report, Shaping Tomorrow’s Cities, which looks at ways to reinvent U.S. cities after the upheaval of the pandemic and the growth of remote work. She noted that urban revitalization trends that were evident in the period leading up to the pandemic were “stopped in their tracks” by COVID-19 and the “sheer concern of density being a health problem.”The CBRE report found that a diverse built environment in vibrant mixed-use districts was more attractive to office tenants, more attractive to residents, and more attractive to retailers setting up shops to support the population in that area. Vibrant mixed-use districts are essential for urban rejuvenation, Whelan said, “because just working in cities is not the pure draw anymore.”

Jim Risoleo, president and CEO of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc . (Nasdaq: HST), was a guest on the latest episode of the REIT Report podcast.During the interview, Risoleo discussed the REIT’s latest results, trends in leisure and group travel, recent acquisitions in Nashville, conditions in Maui, renovation projects, sustainability targets, and more.Commenting on the outlook for the lodging sector in general, Risoleo said it is set up for solid performance for at least the next several years, with supply growth at historically low levels.

John Sullivan, chair of U.S. real estate and co-chair of the global real estate practice at DLA Piper, was a guest on the latest episode of the Nareit REIT Report.Sullivan shared some of the findings from the DLA Piper Global Real Estate State of the Market Survey 2024. He described sentiment among CRE executives today as one of “cautious optimism.”“I think the message we're getting is that people think the skies are starting to clear a little bit. Nobody is saying that we're there yet, but people are looking at interest rates having stabilized and there's an expectation of some rate cuts,” Sullivan said.

Jonathan Keith, managing director with the risk and financial advisory practice at Deloitte and Touche LLP, where he is also the real estate sector leader in the M&A group, was a guest on the latest episode of the Nareit REIT Report podcast.Keith discusses Deloitte's 2024 commercial real estate M&A outlook, noting that higher interest rates due to ongoing inflation concerns may extend the period of lower M&A transaction volume that has been in place since the second quarter of 2022.Keith also highlights sector-specific trends and identifies industrial and data centers as strong sectors, while highlighting opportunities in multifamily investments.

This episode of the REIT Report’s ongoing series “Building to Zero” features Maria Vargas, senior program advisor and director of the Better Buildings Initiative for the U.S. Department of Energy, and focuses on how success, solutions, and challenges are being addressed at the industry level.Vargas shared her perspective on the importance of industry collaboration over her career, which includes 25 years at the Environmental Protection Agency and the past 13 years at DOE. She shares how the Better Buildings Initiative was designed to serve as a platform to drive and accelerate the adoption of energy efficiency and other decarbonization.“What we recognize is that we spend about $200 billion a year to run our commercial buildings in this country. We spend, on average, about another $200 billion on our industrial facilities. And we know that, on average, 20% to 30% of that energy is wasted.”

Todd Voigt, senior portfolio manager at Ranger Global Real Estate Advisors, was a guest on the latest episode of Nareit’s REIT Report podcast.Voigt discussed key issues impacting real estate investing today and how REITs might find opportunities amid market volatility.“The great opportunity that U.S. REITs have, and particularly those early winners that we're seeing raise capital now, is that they have the balance sheets and access to equity to be the buyers. And oftentimes there'll be less buyers at that table and that's where you oftentimes get the best returns,” Voigt said.

Nils Kok, professor of real estate at the University of Maastricht, and Siqi Zheng, professor of real estate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, were guests on the latest episode of Nareit’s REIT Report podcast.Kok and Zheng are two of the academic directors of the Global Real Estate Leaders Program, an executive training program aimed at emerging real estate professionals with at least 10 years’ experience, sponsored by the MIT Center for Real Estate and Maastricht University Centre. Nareit is a participating organization in the new executive education program.Kok noted that the program is aimed at executives who are eager to learn about the latest real estate finance or mega trends, but don’t have the time to go back to school for a year.

Matt Kelly, CEO of JBG SMITH (NYSE: JBGS) and Nareit’s 2024 chair, was a guest on the 400 th episode of Nareit’s REIT Report podcast.In a wide-ranging interview, Kelly speaks about placemaking—a hallmark of the REIT’s approach to development—and the importance of “striking the right balance” between public space, retail, and work and living spaces, alongside basic neighborhood necessities.He also talks about the importance of affordable housing, JBG SMITH’s shift to become a majority multifamily REIT, the Potomac Yard arena project, the REIT’s ongoing commitment to National Landing and the Northern Virginia submarket, and more.

Steven Brown, senior vice president and senior portfolio manager for American Century Investments, was a guest on the latest episode of the REIT Report podcast.Brown described the landscape for REIT investment today, noting that most REITs issued earnings growth guidance for 2024 of around 4%.“The REIT earnings outlook still looks very solid,” Brown said. “Demand is better than supply in most property sectors…higher interest rates as well as the higher cost of construction have started to slow supply in many of the markets we invest in. We think the picture is improving for…REIT earnings growth in 2024 and 2025.”Register for Nareit's REITweek: 2024 Investor Conference: https://go.reit.com/reitweekRR