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.”

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This episode of the REIT Report’s ongoing series “Building to Zero” features Ben Myers, senior vice president of sustainability at BXP (NYSE: BXP) and continues to dig deeper into the real estate industry’s journey to reduce emissions from the built environment.

Myers shares his view on why it is so important to take a long term view on electrification, which refers to the replacement of fossil fuel equipment, like internal combustion engines and gas boilers, with electric motors or heat pumps.

The common case for electrification is that building owners can decarbonize and utilize equipment that is significantly more efficient. “Electrification of everything is what I'm here to talk about today. And in particular, how to spread this religion around electrification. I am a believer that we need to electrify the built environment and I'll explain why, but I do think that we need to take some important steps to get there,” Myers says.

Matt Werner, senior portfolio manager for REITs at Chilton Capital Management, was a guest on the latest episode of Nareit’s REIT Report podcast.

Werner emphasized the resilience of public REITs amid economic challenges, especially in managing debt maturities and maintaining dividend payments during periods of uncertainty.

According to Werner, public REITs are now positioned to capitalize on market volatility, with robust balance sheets enabling them to acquire distressed properties. "We're still kind of waiting for the sort of big moment for public REITs to go out and make significant acquisitions or for private companies to bite the bullet and decide that going public is the only kind of way to save their company."

Bill Hughes, managing director of liquid strategies at DigitalBridge Investment Management, was a guest on the latest edition of the Nareit REIT Report podcast.

Hughes discussed some of the trends and developments in digital infrastructure and real estate securities markets today. He noted that the types of real estate businesses that get characterized as digital infrastructure currently compose around 40% of the publicly traded real estate market by value. “That's something that was not true a decade, a decade and a half ago.”

When analyzing digital infrastructure, the same issues that impact traditional real estate—such as supply and demand dynamics, unit level economics, the capital intensity of the asset over time, lease structures, and credit counterparties—should all be considered, Hughes said.

Elisabeth Troni, fund manager with CBRE IM’s flagship global investment strategy, was a guest on the latest episode of Nareit’s REIT Report.

CBRE IM’s flagship global strategy began to allocate to listed REITs in December 2022. Troni explains the timing behind that decision and the scope it gave the strategy to access niche and specialized property sectors.

Since December 2022, the strategy has entirely invested in an actively managed but broadly diversified strategy, Troni said. She added that the addition of a completion strategy, which would unlock opportunities in those specialty sectors, is currently under review.

Troni noted that while the market is unsure about when rate cuts may occur, “what we do feel confident about is the fact that higher rates are priced into public markets in terms of the pricing levels, and they have a strong chance to outperform when the market can see the end of rising rates.”