The Real Estate Espresso Podcast

The DOJ accused RealPage in August of 2024 of facilitating unlawful price-fixing and rent inflation by using competitively sensitive, nonpublic data from multiple landlords to generate rent recommendations, effectively aligning pricing across competing properties. Anti-trust behavior, also known as anti-competitive conduct, refers to business practices that substantially lessen competition in the marketplace, restrict free trade, or lead to the unfair formation or abuse of a monopoly. These actions ultimately harm consumers by resulting in higher prices, lower quality, reduced innovation, and less choice.The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division filed a proposed settlement this week to resolve the United States’ claims against RealPage Inc.The information provided by RealPage is frankly no different than the information that is routinely available from a multitude of sources including Yardi Matrix, Costar, and ALN to name just a few. This information is publicly available in close to real time. What perhaps is not publicly available is the extent to which landlords have been negotiating leasing incentives into leases with specific tenants. That information might not be publicly available. If RealPage was making pricing recommendations to landlords using this information, then I can see where a line was crossed and could be considered anti-competitive.The truth is, landlords have ready access to this kind of market information on a regular basis. Any appraisal or third party market study will make rental pricing recommendations based on the market data. These have been standard practice for decades when it comes to any financing due diligence. Any property owner with a brain can integrate the market data into a series of pricing strategies. While RealPage is having one hand tied behind their back with this settlement, there are very few secrets when it comes to pricing. We live in a fully interconnected world where tenants can increasingly use artificial intelligence to get up to date pricing information and frankly have the upper hand when it comes to finding the lowest price.-------------**Real Estate Espresso Podcast:** Spotify: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](https://open.spotify.com/show/3GvtwRmTq4r3es8cbw8jW0?si=c75ea506a6694ef1)   iTunes: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-real-estate-espresso-podcast/id1340482613)   Website: [www.victorjm.com](http://www.victorjm.com)   LinkedIn: [Victor Menasce](http://www.linkedin.com/in/vmenasce)   YouTube: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](http://www.youtube.com/@victorjmenasce6734)   Facebook: [www.facebook.com/realestateespresso](http://www.facebook.com/realestateespresso)   Email: [podcast@victorjm.com](mailto:podcast@victorjm.com)  **Y Street Capital:** Website: [www.ystreetcapital.com](http://www.ystreetcapital.com)   Facebook: [www.facebook.com/YStreetCapital](https://www.facebook.com/YStreetCapital)   Instagram: [@ystreetcapital](http://www.instagram.com/ystreetcapital)  

The Surfside condo collapse in 2021 precipated a number of changes to Florida's condo laws. The result has been a massive negative impact on condos across the entire state. The latest change to the regulations improves the outlook by allowing home owner associations to fund part of their reserve funds using loans and lines of credit. Previously these reserves had to be funded in cash by the unit owners, often resulting in special assessements of hundreds of thousands for each owner. ------------**Real Estate Espresso Podcast:** Spotify: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](https://open.spotify.com/show/3GvtwRmTq4r3es8cbw8jW0?si=c75ea506a6694ef1)   iTunes: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-real-estate-espresso-podcast/id1340482613)   Website: [www.victorjm.com](http://www.victorjm.com)   LinkedIn: [Victor Menasce](http://www.linkedin.com/in/vmenasce)   YouTube: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](http://www.youtube.com/@victorjmenasce6734)   Facebook: [www.facebook.com/realestateespresso](http://www.facebook.com/realestateespresso)   Email: [podcast@victorjm.com](mailto:podcast@victorjm.com)  **Y Street Capital:** Website: [www.ystreetcapital.com](http://www.ystreetcapital.com)   Facebook: [www.facebook.com/YStreetCapital](https://www.facebook.com/YStreetCapital)   Instagram: [@ystreetcapital](http://www.instagram.com/ystreetcapital)  

We have become accustomed to hearing about legislative changes that advance tenant rights and make it more and more difficult for property owners to protect their properties and indeed run a profitable business. There is nothing that compels investors to make losing investments. If made sufficiently unattractive, investors simply won’t invest and the country will experience an acute shortage of housing which will have the effect of pushing rent prices higher. This time, there is an example of government creating the incentives to build more housing and to break down the procedural delays that make it more and more difficult for owners to get relief when tenants stop paying. In October 2025, the Ontario government introduced Bill 60, formally titled the Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025. While the legislation spans many areas — from transit and planning to municipal governance — one of its most consequential parts amends the Residential Tenancies Act and makes significant changes to how landlords and tenants interact. As a backdrop, the current backlog is 42,000 cases in front of the landlord tenant board. That’s an improvement from the 53,000 case backlog a year earlier. Today, the average wait time for a case to be heard is 7 months.A few weeks ago I sent the premier of Ontario, Doug Ford a text message to let him know that I supported his initiative and that he is on the right track. He responded within a few minutes and thanked me for my message. Let’s see if other jurisdictions monitor the impacts of these changes and maybe follow suit.-------------**Real Estate Espresso Podcast:** Spotify: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](https://open.spotify.com/show/3GvtwRmTq4r3es8cbw8jW0?si=c75ea506a6694ef1)   iTunes: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-real-estate-espresso-podcast/id1340482613)   Website: [www.victorjm.com](http://www.victorjm.com)   LinkedIn: [Victor Menasce](http://www.linkedin.com/in/vmenasce)   YouTube: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](http://www.youtube.com/@victorjmenasce6734)   Facebook: [www.facebook.com/realestateespresso](http://www.facebook.com/realestateespresso)   Email: [podcast@victorjm.com](mailto:podcast@victorjm.com)  **Y Street Capital:** Website: [www.ystreetcapital.com](http://www.ystreetcapital.com)   Facebook: [www.facebook.com/YStreetCapital](https://www.facebook.com/YStreetCapital)   Instagram: [@ystreetcapital](http://www.instagram.com/ystreetcapital)  

On today’s show we are looking at the compressibility of construction schedules. We often hear that projects will take longer and there are all kinds of reasons why they legitimately need to take longer. It’s a large site and the site work will take a long time. The utilities are not available. The city infrastructure isn’t ready. We can’t find enough labor. The excuses are abundant. As developers we are no strangers to delays and we have experienced many of them. Most of them having to do with the entitlement process. Sometimes there are delays at the hands of lenders, delays at as a result of it taking longer to raise capital. But then there is the XAI Colossus Data Center. This supercomputer is the largest AI super computer in the world.This first phase of the data centre was built in 122 days. I don’t know how many days or weeks of planning went into it. But all I can say is that there are many examples of decisions that were designed to save time in the most significant ways.This was just the first. They built a second data centre and from March to October, that data centre was also brought online with all the power, cooling, networking and computing, and of course all of the construction required to make that happen. This is a project that would have taken several years under normal conditions. What it does is it demonstrates precisely how compressible a construction schedule can be if you take the constraints off the problem. -------------**Real Estate Espresso Podcast:** Spotify: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](https://open.spotify.com/show/3GvtwRmTq4r3es8cbw8jW0?si=c75ea506a6694ef1)   iTunes: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-real-estate-espresso-podcast/id1340482613)   Website: [www.victorjm.com](http://www.victorjm.com)   LinkedIn: [Victor Menasce](http://www.linkedin.com/in/vmenasce)   YouTube: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](http://www.youtube.com/@victorjmenasce6734)   Facebook: [www.facebook.com/realestateespresso](http://www.facebook.com/realestateespresso)   Email: [podcast@victorjm.com](mailto:podcast@victorjm.com)  **Y Street Capital:** Website: [www.ystreetcapital.com](http://www.ystreetcapital.com)   Facebook: [www.facebook.com/YStreetCapital](https://www.facebook.com/YStreetCapital)   Instagram: [@ystreetcapital](http://www.instagram.com/ystreetcapital)  

Allison Kierman is based in Scottsdale Arizona where she specializes in estate planning for business owners and high net worth families. On today's show we are talking about some of the pitfalls that can occur when this sometimes painful topic is ignored. To connect with Allison you can call 480-719-7333 or visit kiermanlaw.com-------------**Real Estate Espresso Podcast:** Spotify: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](https://open.spotify.com/show/3GvtwRmTq4r3es8cbw8jW0?si=c75ea506a6694ef1)   iTunes: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-real-estate-espresso-podcast/id1340482613)   Website: [www.victorjm.com](http://www.victorjm.com)   LinkedIn: [Victor Menasce](http://www.linkedin.com/in/vmenasce)   YouTube: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](http://www.youtube.com/@victorjmenasce6734)   Facebook: [www.facebook.com/realestateespresso](http://www.facebook.com/realestateespresso)   Email: [podcast@victorjm.com](mailto:podcast@victorjm.com)  **Y Street Capital:** Website: [www.ystreetcapital.com](http://www.ystreetcapital.com)   Facebook: [www.facebook.com/YStreetCapital](https://www.facebook.com/YStreetCapital)   Instagram: [@ystreetcapital](http://www.instagram.com/ystreetcapital)  

Anthony Scavo is based in Westchester NY where he invests in small bay industrial across the US. The company has amassed 5 million square feet since 2021 and in on an aggressive growth trajectory. You can reach Anthony at basisindustrial.com or email him directly at anthony@basisindustrial.com.-------------**Real Estate Espresso Podcast:** Spotify: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](https://open.spotify.com/show/3GvtwRmTq4r3es8cbw8jW0?si=c75ea506a6694ef1)   iTunes: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-real-estate-espresso-podcast/id1340482613)   Website: [www.victorjm.com](http://www.victorjm.com)   LinkedIn: [Victor Menasce](http://www.linkedin.com/in/vmenasce)   YouTube: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](http://www.youtube.com/@victorjmenasce6734)   Facebook: [www.facebook.com/realestateespresso](http://www.facebook.com/realestateespresso)   Email: [podcast@victorjm.com](mailto:podcast@victorjm.com)  **Y Street Capital:** Website: [www.ystreetcapital.com](http://www.ystreetcapital.com)   Facebook: [www.facebook.com/YStreetCapital](https://www.facebook.com/YStreetCapital)   Instagram: [@ystreetcapital](http://www.instagram.com/ystreetcapital)  

In real estate, most operational mistakes are not the result of bad intentions. They are the result of assumptions. You believe the tenant will know where to park, how to receive packages, how to operate the thermostat, or how to submit a maintenance request. You assume your team will know how to prepare the unit, confirm utilities, or walk a resident through the lease.But assumptions are the enemy of predictable execution.Professional developers use a tool from the software world called use cases, sometimes known as user stories, to design a process that works for the client in the real world, not the world we imagine on paper.A use case is a simple story that describes how a specific person completes a specific task under specific conditions. It forces you to see the experience through the customer’s eyes, not the company’s.In residential real estate, this is invaluable. ------------**Real Estate Espresso Podcast:** Spotify: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](https://open.spotify.com/show/3GvtwRmTq4r3es8cbw8jW0?si=c75ea506a6694ef1)   iTunes: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-real-estate-espresso-podcast/id1340482613)   Website: [www.victorjm.com](http://www.victorjm.com)   LinkedIn: [Victor Menasce](http://www.linkedin.com/in/vmenasce)   YouTube: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](http://www.youtube.com/@victorjmenasce6734)   Facebook: [www.facebook.com/realestateespresso](http://www.facebook.com/realestateespresso)   Email: [podcast@victorjm.com](mailto:podcast@victorjm.com)  **Y Street Capital:** Website: [www.ystreetcapital.com](http://www.ystreetcapital.com)   Facebook: [www.facebook.com/YStreetCapital](https://www.facebook.com/YStreetCapital)   Instagram: [@ystreetcapital](http://www.instagram.com/ystreetcapital)  

On today’s show we are talking about the impact of artificial intelligence on the design of apartment buildings. The most obvious medium term impact of AI is going to be on the automotive industry. Some people prefer to drive by car because they don’t want the experience of public transit. It’s noisy, it’s crowded. You can’t have a private phone conversation on a bus or on the subway. The bus doesn’t take you where you want to go. It may take you close by, not exactly where you want to go. Even in places where traffic congestion is high and parking is expensive, people prefer to drive over the alternative. The cost of a taxi might be expensive. But depending on how often you drive and how far you drive, even using a taxi service might be more cost effective than owning your own car.These days a ride sharing service like Uber or Lyft is typically costing between $2-3 per mile or between $1.25 - $1.87 per kilometre. Much of this is linked to the wage associated with having a human driver behind the wheel.If you take a typical leased vehicle that might give you 15,000 miles per year and that lease might cost you $600 a month and maybe a similar amount in insurance. If you spend $2000 a year in fuel to drive those 15,000 miles then your cost per mile for a vehicle that you own is going to cost about $1.09 per mile. If you have to pay for parking, you are probably going to break $1.25 per mile in terms of cost. That’s assuming that the car needs no maintenance. On the other hand, if you can save time because you don’t need to look for parking a robotaxi might be a competitive solution. Some recent numbers suggest that robo-taxis will cost between $0.25-$35 per mile in mass deployment.That’s a significant saving over car ownership. The other important question will be the balance of supply and demand. If you have to wait too long for a robo-taxi to show up, then people won’t use it. But if the supply is sufficient to keep wait times low, then robo-taxi adoption will change the entire auto industry. There will be no reason to own a car. For those really long road trips, it would be cheaper to rent a car. For trips within the city, a robo-taxi would even be preferable to owning a car for many people. -------------**Real Estate Espresso Podcast:** Spotify: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](https://open.spotify.com/show/3GvtwRmTq4r3es8cbw8jW0?si=c75ea506a6694ef1)   iTunes: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-real-estate-espresso-podcast/id1340482613)   Website: [www.victorjm.com](http://www.victorjm.com)   LinkedIn: [Victor Menasce](http://www.linkedin.com/in/vmenasce)   YouTube: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](http://www.youtube.com/@victorjmenasce6734)   Facebook: [www.facebook.com/realestateespresso](http://www.facebook.com/realestateespresso)   Email: [podcast@victorjm.com](mailto:podcast@victorjm.com)  **Y Street Capital:** Website: [www.ystreetcapital.com](http://www.ystreetcapital.com)   Facebook: [www.facebook.com/YStreetCapital](https://www.facebook.com/YStreetCapital)   Instagram: [@ystreetcapital](http://www.instagram.com/ystreetcapital)  

Sometimes in life you have amazing foresight and insight. And then other times you’re just lucky. This is one of those cases where we are just lucky. I’ll gratefully accept luck when it happens to benefit us. In fact we have no choice. We have have to accept unlucky bounces as well. This week there was an announcement of a major new nuclear power installation for Brigham City Utah. This suburb of Salt Lake City has a population of about 20,000. We know this area well because we have a 21 acre project currently under development just off the I-15 interchange and across the street from the Walmart SuperCenter. Our project consists of a Marriott Townplace Suites Hotel, 104 townhouses and 60,000 SF of flex industrial. The nuclear project will consist of an array of 4-10 small modular nuclear reactors with the first one being delivered in the early 2030’s. The country has finally woken up to the notion that the US will need a vast increase in the amount of electricity generation capacity. The area around Salt Lake City could be a candidate for data centres and manufacturing, were it not for the fact that the area has insufficient power to sustain the growth. -----------**Real Estate Espresso Podcast:** Spotify: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](https://open.spotify.com/show/3GvtwRmTq4r3es8cbw8jW0?si=c75ea506a6694ef1)   iTunes: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-real-estate-espresso-podcast/id1340482613)   Website: [www.victorjm.com](http://www.victorjm.com)   LinkedIn: [Victor Menasce](http://www.linkedin.com/in/vmenasce)   YouTube: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](http://www.youtube.com/@victorjmenasce6734)   Facebook: [www.facebook.com/realestateespresso](http://www.facebook.com/realestateespresso)   Email: [podcast@victorjm.com](mailto:podcast@victorjm.com)  **Y Street Capital:** Website: [www.ystreetcapital.com](http://www.ystreetcapital.com)   Facebook: [www.facebook.com/YStreetCapital](https://www.facebook.com/YStreetCapital)   Instagram: [@ystreetcapital](http://www.instagram.com/ystreetcapital)  

On today’s show we are taking a look at the benefits of working in an office environment versus remote work. Back in 2019 average commute times in major cities had reached a peak. For example average commute times in San Francisco were 33 minutes. During the pandemic, that fell to 25 minutes. But in truth, since many were not commuting at all, the commute times for people working from home went to zero. Fast forward to this year and commute times are back above 30 minutes again, essentially mirroring times from 2019, despite the fact that many offices remain vacant. In fact the downtown vacancy in San Francisco remains at 34.4%, so there are still a lot of people not traveling to the office and working from home. When I was in the tech industry, the benefits of having teams co-located was well documented. In fact, the level of communication between team members dropped significantly when desks were more than 50 feet apart. Close working teams need to be close together to function optimally. -----------**Real Estate Espresso Podcast:** Spotify: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](https://open.spotify.com/show/3GvtwRmTq4r3es8cbw8jW0?si=c75ea506a6694ef1)   iTunes: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-real-estate-espresso-podcast/id1340482613)   Website: [www.victorjm.com](http://www.victorjm.com)   LinkedIn: [Victor Menasce](http://www.linkedin.com/in/vmenasce)   YouTube: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](http://www.youtube.com/@victorjmenasce6734)   Facebook: [www.facebook.com/realestateespresso](http://www.facebook.com/realestateespresso)   Email: [podcast@victorjm.com](mailto:podcast@victorjm.com)  **Y Street Capital:** Website: [www.ystreetcapital.com](http://www.ystreetcapital.com)   Facebook: [www.facebook.com/YStreetCapital](https://www.facebook.com/YStreetCapital)   Instagram: [@ystreetcapital](http://www.instagram.com/ystreetcapital)