

The Real Estate Espresso Podcast
Victor Menasce
Welcome to The Real Estate Espresso Podcast, your morning shot of what's new in the world of real estate investing. Join investor, syndicator, developer, and author Victor J. Menasce as he shares his daily real estate investment outlook. Our weekday episodes deliver 5 minutes of high-energy, high-impact content to fuel your success. Plus, don't miss our weekend editions featuring exclusive interviews with renowned guests such as Robert Kiyosaki, Robert Helms, Peter Schiff, and more.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jan 30, 2025 • 6min
Who Burst The Artificial Intelligence Bubble?
When a bubble gets burst, the pin usually gets the blame. But it's not the pin's fault. How do bubbles form? What is the definition of a bubble? Bubbles form when three things come together:
A massive amount of capital injected into a segment
A story which supports the unlimited upside potential which is fuelling the frenzy
The income from the market is not enough to support the investment.
On today's show we dissect the optimizations that Deepseek made to undercut the entire AI industry. These shortcuts are obvious in hindsight.
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**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)

Jan 29, 2025 • 9min
Celebrating A Major Success
On today's show I am live on location at our major 1783 acre development project in Colorado Springs.
This is a two part episode. The first part was recorded live on location just after sunrise and prior to the city council meeting and the second part was recorded after the city council meeting late in the afternoon just as the sun was setting.
Enjoy...
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Jan 28, 2025 • 6min
The Wave of Trump Volatility
On today’s show we are looking at the impact of the announcements over the past week emanating from the White House to understand the impact on real estate investors.
First of all, I think you need to take President Trump seriously, but not necessarily literally.
We tend to look at various initiatives and evaluate them through a lens that is not necessarily the same lens that the administration sees. When that happens, you are likely to have a reaction that the initiative makes no sense.
It’s not that it doesn’t make sense. It’s that you don’t understand the rationale or the end objective.
In the past few days we have seen so many counter-current changes in the economy. We have seen the first moves by the White House. But so far we have not seen any counter punches. We have not seen a response from China, or Canada or Mexico or the European Union. We don’t know what legal challenges might cause an overnight injunction to some of the initiatives. We don’t know if an injunction will stop an initiative, or merely delay it until the Congress enacts legislation to implement the President’s agenda.
We live in an interconnected world now more than ever, even if it's currently pivoting around Donald Trump, but other people will respond to what he's planning to do, and that will create massive volatility.
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**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)

Jan 27, 2025 • 6min
Experiential Retail Real Estate
On today’s show we are taking a look at the changing landscape in retail real estate. This is the third in a series of episodes focused on the retail landscape.
Last week we looked at the impact of e-commerce on bricks and mortar retail. We also looked at the global supply demand dynamics in the US market. On today’s show we are focusing on experiential retail. This is based on the thesis that customers will come into your store if you give them another reason to come into the store other than just to buy something.
As it turns out, when people come to a store, they tend to buy anyway. Sometimes it’s an impulse buy unrelated to the event. At other times, the event that brought you into the store stimulates the purchase.
It used to be the case that stores would turn over their inventory only a few times a year. The large department stores would turn over their fashion lines every 90 days with the changing of the seasons. That meant there was only 4 reasons to come into the store in a year. Companies like The Limited revolutionized the industry by changing their inventory monthly.
The more reasons you can give people to set foot in your store, the higher the chance they will buy something. Once a customer buys something, then there are more opportunities to upsell on something else.
On today’s show we’re going to look at some examples of what some retailers are doing to create a sticky customer experience. By offering more than just products, retailers create an emotional connection with customers, making the shopping experience memorable and enjoyable.
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**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)

Jan 26, 2025 • 11min
Building Relationships with Podcast Guests with Dave Dubeau
Dave Dubeau is based in Kamloops, British Columbia. He is focused on helping other investors and syndicators develop relationships with potential partners by inviting them as a guest on a podcast.
He's written a book on the process and is passionate about educating people on the process. To connect with Dave and to learn more, visit https://20accreditedinvestorsbook.com/bonus. The coupon code "espresso" will give you access to more resources.
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**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)

Jan 25, 2025 • 17min
George Ross on Government Real Estate
George Ross is famous for his role as Executive Vice President in the Trump Organization and as Donald's advisor since his very first deal at age 27. In today's conversation George shares his thoughts on the opportunities that are opening up for real estate investors in the coming months.
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**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)

Jan 24, 2025 • 7min
Supply and Demand For Retail Real Estate
Today’s show is the second in a mini-series on retail real estate. Yesterday we touched on the changing landscape of retail. On today’s show we are going to look at the overall macro picture for retail real estate from a supply and demand perspective. We’re going to highlight five markets across the US that are showing signs of tight supply.
On today’s show we are looking at the findings from the most recent retail real estate report published by CBRE.
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Our firm is Y Street Capital where our mission is to "Build Communities That People Feel Compelled To Call Home". If you would like to learn more about what we do, register for our investor portal. We won't spam you with tons of emails. This will give you access to information about what we do. To register, visit https://ystreetcapital.invportal.com/login
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**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)

Jan 23, 2025 • 5min
The Changing Face of Retail
Today’s show is the first in a mini-series on the changing landscape of retail.
We’ve been hearing about the death of retail for more than five years now. There is no question that retail is changing. Perhaps the biggest effect is the blurry line between online and offline.
It used to be the case that customers would drive to their favourite shop and see what they had in stock. Customers would browse the aisles and make their buying decision based on what was in the store.
That was rarely a perfect shopping experience and most customers would walk out empty handed. Shopping malls reduced the frustration factor because there would be another potential supplier a few doors down in the same mall.
But the mega shopping mall with 400 stores can take 20 minutes to get in and out of by the time you park the car, walk to the mall entrance, find the store you’re looking for and walk the entire length of the mall only to find out that they don’t carry what you’re looking for.
Prior to the pandemic, online accounted for about 8% of retail sales, a continuation of steady increases in the percentage of retail sales taking place online. Along came the pandemic and online sales virtually doubled to more than 16% of all retail.
Then as the world emerged from the pandemic, online sales fell to about 14% of all retail before rebounding to about 16% in 2024.
But not all in-store sales are truly in-store sales. An unknown percentage are "Clicks to Bricks" sales where the browsing happens online and the transaction happens at the cash register. This is still about the immediacy of the purchase which the ecommerce world has improved, but not solved.
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**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)

Jan 22, 2025 • 5min
Trump Executive Order Tracker #1
On today’s show we are looking at the flurry of executive orders that was signed by the incoming administration in Washington. There were a lot of them covering a wide range of issues. The ones that are getting the most attention and making headlines are those that affect the most divisive issues like deportations and international trade.
There have been no less than 35 executive orders in two days.
But this is a real estate podcast. On today’s show we are going to dissect a few of the executive orders from this week and highlight those that in particular could have an impact on real estate investors.
So today, I’m going to focus on only two of these executive orders. We will focus on others in the coming days as we are able to dissect them.
#1 Promoting Beautiful Federal Civic Architecture
#2 Delivering Emergency Price Relief for American Families and Defeating the Cost-of-Living Crisis
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**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)

Jan 21, 2025 • 6min
Big Changes In Apartment Lending Criteria
On today's show we are talking about the recently announced changes to the HUD lending programs for apartments in the United States. The HUD programs are direct competitors to the agency loans that you might get from Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
The possible loan proceeds have been increased by relaxing the debt coverage requirements and increasing the loan to value and loan to cost limits. This is a significant improvement and can make the difference for a lot of investors.
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**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)