The Best Ever CRE Show

The podcast dives into insights from a meeting with top commercial real estate investors, addressing rising stagflation risks and their implications for apartment demand. Despite economic uncertainties, overall investor sentiment remains positive, with many planning to purchase in 2025. A key focus is the importance of strong operations, as experienced investors are expected to thrive while less seasoned counterparts may struggle. The conversation also highlights the need for adaptability in response to fluctuating interest rates and economic challenges.

Gary Holloway Jr., CEO of GMH Communities, dives into the evolution of student housing, highlighting the shift from local syndications to large-scale developments. He discusses the significance of location and market dynamics in identifying investment opportunities, particularly in urban areas. Gary showcases GMH’s “Innovative Living” model, merging student and conventional housing while catering to emerging life science hubs. He emphasizes resilience in the student housing sector and the critical need for partnerships with experienced operators for future success.

In this discussion, Neal Bawa, CEO and the 'mad scientist of multifamily,' shares insights from his live presentation at a major conference. He debates the Fed's economic strategies, noting that wage growth is outpacing rent growth. Neal expresses a bullish outlook on rent but remains cautious about cap rates and interest rates. He recommends targeting investment markets like Indianapolis, citing their strong rent growth and favorable tax conditions, while also emphasizing data-driven decision-making for real estate success.

On this episode of the Best Ever CRE Show, Pascal Wagner interviews Jeremy Roll, a full-time passive investor since 2002 with active investments in over 60 deals. They discuss how to strategically read market cycles, why Jeremy prioritizes predictability and cash flow over chasing high returns, and how his portfolio has evolved to favor asset classes like multifamily, mobile home parks, and senior living. Jeremy also shares his approach to cycle timing, his cautious stance since 2016, and specific tips for LPs to better vet sponsors and opportunities. This is a deep dive into patient, conservative investing and avoiding common LP pitfalls. Jeremy Roll -President - Based in: Newport Beach, California - Say hi to them at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremy-roll-655107 Join the Best Ever Community  The Best Ever Community is live and growing - and we want serious commercial real estate investors like you inside. It’s free to join, but you must apply and meet the criteria.  Connect with top operators, LPs, GPs, and more, get real insights, and be part of a curated network built to help you grow. Apply now at www.bestevercommunity.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jaimee Keene, founder of Peaks Commercial Real Estate, shares her fascinating journey from appraiser to broker in Colorado's resort markets. She discusses the intricacies of launching a boutique brokerage tailored to mountain towns and the significance of a generalist approach in real estate. Jaimee dives into the nuances of appraisals and the value of strong relationships with appraisers. Additionally, she highlights exciting value-add retail opportunities and strategies for building credibility in the competitive brokerage landscape.

On this episode of Best Ever CRE, Joe Cornwell interviews Phillips Wagner of Mill Street Partners. They dive into how Phillips is making ground-up multifamily and industrial development deals work in today’s challenging market, including creative land entitlement, vertical integration to control construction costs, and the use of steel framing to save on insurance and build times. They also discuss the importance of municipal incentives, the long-term outlook for DFW development, and advice for new developers looking to avoid common pitfalls. Phillips Wagner COO and Partner Say hi to them at https://millstreetpartnersllc.com/ vikingcapllc.com Join the Best Ever Community  The Best Ever Community is live and growing - and we want serious commercial real estate investors like you inside. It’s free to join, but you must apply and meet the criteria.  Connect with top operators, LPs, GPs, and more, get real insights, and be part of a curated network built to help you grow. Apply now at www.bestevercommunity.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of the Best Ever CRE Show, Joe Fairless interviews AI-savvy investors Paul Hopkins, Perry Zheng, Lance Pederson, and Bo Barron to explore how artificial intelligence is reshaping commercial real estate acquisitions. The panel shares practical tools—like Google’s Notebook LM, ChatGPT, AI21, and Claude—and strategies for deal analysis, underwriting, parsing PDFs, and even creating custom GPTs to automate offering memorandum reviews. They discuss how AI streamlines market research, transforms spreadsheets into semantic data, and helps underwrite deals more accurately and efficiently, while also acknowledging its limits in replacing human decision-making and deal sourcing relationships. Paul Hopkins COO and Partner https://cpicapital.ca/ Perry Zheng Founder and CEO https://www.cashflowportal.com/ Lance Pederson CEO and Co-Founder https://www.passiveadvantage.com/ Bo Barron CEO https://barroncommercial.com/ vikingcapllc.com Join the Best Ever Community  The Best Ever Community is live and growing - and we want serious commercial real estate investors like you inside. It’s free to join, but you must apply and meet the criteria.  Connect with top operators, LPs, GPs, and more, get real insights, and be part of a curated network built to help you grow. Apply now at www.bestevercommunity.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of The Horizon, John discusses his takeaways from the conference he just attended, emphasizing the resilience of commercial real estate amidst economic uncertainty. He highlights positive investor sentiment, particularly around multifamily, medical office, and necessity-based retail assets, while noting caution about tariffs, stagflation risks, and global trade impacts. John also dives into demographic trends favoring long-term rental demand, especially among millennials, and stresses the Midwest’s emerging strength in rent growth and limited new supply compared to oversaturated Sunbelt markets. vikingcapllc.com Join the Best Ever Community  The Best Ever Community is live and growing - and we want serious commercial real estate investors like you inside. It’s free to join, but you must apply and meet the criteria.  Connect with top operators, LPs, GPs, and more, get real insights, and be part of a curated network built to help you grow. Apply now at www.bestevercommunity.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of Best Ever CRE, Slocomb Reed interviews Stephen Predmore, an engineer-turned-investor and owner of Talbot Investments. Stephen shares his journey from small single-family rentals in Baltimore to JV, LP, and co-GP multifamily positions across the U.S. He highlights key lessons from a challenging 33-unit JV in Alaska and contrasts it with a more successful, nearby JV in West Virginia. Stephen also explains why he chose to syndicate a 54-unit North Carolina deal and discusses his current focus on capital raising, targeting senior engineers for investor relations as he continues scaling with trusted operators in red states.Stephen Predmore Owner Based in: Baltimore, Maryland Say hi to them at https://talbottinvestments.com vikingcapllc.com Join the Best Ever Community The Best Ever Community is live and growing - and we want serious commercial real estate investors like you inside. It’s free to join, but you must apply and meet the criteria. Connect with top operators, LPs, GPs, and more, get real insights, and be part of a curated network built to help you grow. Apply now at www.bestevercommunity.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lon Welsh, founder of Ironton Capital and a seasoned real estate investor, discusses his journey from house hacking to managing over $80 million in investments. He shares insights on the importance of investor matchmaking and the evolving landscape of office space, particularly through innovative renovations. Lon highlights opportunities in low-income housing and extended stay hospitality. The conversation also delves into strategic investment tactics and the potential for new construction in a competitive market.