Nareit's REIT Report Podcast

Darren Richman, CEO of Millrose Properties, Inc. (NYSE: MRP), joined the REIT Report podcast to discuss the land banking business model and how the REIT works with major home builders to improve capital efficiency.Millrose was spun off from home builder Lennar Corp. in February, allowing Lennar to focus on the consumer-facing aspect of its business by transferring the land development side to Millrose. The REIT works with Lennar and 11 other homebuilders.“The more modern form of land banking is about capital efficiency, where a builder is looking to clarify their own business model, looking to separate the opco (operating company) from the propco (property company),” he said.

Doug Weill, founder and co-managing partner at Hodes Weill and Associates, joined the REIT Report podcast to discuss findings from the 2025 Institutional Real Estate Allocations Monitor. Weill noted that institutions decreased target allocations by 10 basis points this year, although allocations are expected to increase by about the same amount in the coming 12 months. The survey showed market conviction “tick up a bit,” he added. “That to us indicates that institutions are increasingly ready to deploy capital and are viewing the next couple of years as potentially good vintages, which is what we hear over and over from institutions.”Weill also highlighted that about one in three institutions are actively allocating to REITs. “When we ask them about what it is about REITs that is most appealing, the two main or top objectives are liquidity and a proxy for core,” he noted.Larger institutions are more actively allocating to REITs, according to Weill, using dedicated in-house teams.

Randy Moss, an industry principal at Yardi, joined the latest episode of the REIT Report podcast to discuss the current landscape for energy management and sustainability reporting facing REITs and commercial real estate (CRE). Yardi is a Nareit Real Estate Sustainability Partner. Moss pointed to funding and building performance standards as key issues of the moment. “The challenge is understanding where your buildings have to comply, (and) what all-new data points you may be needing to collect,” he said. At the same time, utility companies are putting more roadblocks in the way of providing data, especially for tenant-occupied spaces in buildings, according to Moss. “Staying ahead of all of that is going to take some real focus within the REIT space,” he said.

Daniel Ismail, co-head of strategic research at Green Street, joined the REIT Report to discuss recent REIT M&A activity and its implications for the sector.REIT M&A activity has been lively in 2025, with the pace expected to continue into 2026, especially if interest rates decline, Ismail said. At the same time, however, the size of transactions is about 80% smaller than over the past decade, he added.Deals announced this month include the acquisition of Sotherly Hotels Inc. (Nasdaq: SOHO) by a joint venture backed by Kemmons Wilson Hospitality Partners and Ascendant Capital Partners, and the acquisition of Plymouth Industrial REIT, Inc. (NYSE: PLYM) by Makarora Management LP and Ares Alternative Credit funds.Ismail pointed out that in a typical REIT M&A event, the premium to unaffected share price is about 15%. In the case of Plymouth Industrial, that premium stands at 50%, and jumps to 150% for Sotherly. 

James Davidson, Houston-based capital markets partner in the REIT practice at Hogan Lovells, was a guest on the latest episode of the REIT Report podcast. He discussed the recent Fermi Inc. IPO and its implications for the REIT industry, particularly in the context of the energy and infrastructure assets that are needed to fuel the buildout of AI technology.“The way to think about Fermi is that it's a mainstream attempt to finance the physical side of artificial intelligence with a REIT wrapper…that is highly investable to the broadest set of investors,” Davidson said. He discussed the evolving role of infrastructure in the REIT space, the potential for strong foreign capital investment, and the challenges faced in integrating energy and infrastructure assets into the REIT model. 

In this conversation, Brian Rubin discusses the key issues and priorities facing REIT boards today, including economic uncertainty, regulatory compliance, and the need for technology fluency. He emphasizes the evolving skills required for board members, strategies for effective governance, and the role of AI in enhancing board operations. The discussion highlights the importance of continuous improvement in governance practices to adapt to changing risks and opportunities in the real estate sector.

Friso Berghuis, director of listed investments at Dutch pension fund investment manager Bouwinvest, joined the REIT Report podcast to discuss the integration of REITs and listed real estate into Bouwinvest's global investment strategy.Bouwinvest has executed on a fully integrated public and private real estate strategy since 2012. Berghuis noted that including listed real estate ensures the opportunity to invest in specific compelling geographic markets and sectors such as health care, self-storage, and data centers.“Essentially, investing in listed real estate means you are also adding high quality diversified portfolios to the mix. And these portfolios are generally managed by seasoned management teams,” Berghuis said.Other reasons to choose global listed real estate include the ability to move quickly to invest in multiple sectors and markets, and the fact that listed and unlisted investments generally do not move in sync, he noted. 

Victor Coleman, chairman and CEO of Hudson Pacific Properties, Inc. (NYSE: HPP), joined the latest episode of the REIT Report podcast. He discussed the unique positioning of Hudson Pacific in the REIT sector, with its focus on marquee office and studio properties for tech and media tenants.Coleman shared insights on current trends in the West Coast office market, the impact of AI on real estate, innovative leasing strategies, the effects of new tax incentives on studio demand in California and New York, and the financial improvements Hudson Pacific has made to ensure future growth. During the interview, Coleman observed that West Coast office fundamentals are “absolutely improving,” led by San Francisco, which he described as the “epicenter of AI.” Public safety initiatives in the city have also led to an increase in investment, he noted. 

In a special episode of the REIT Report, sponsored by Deloitte, a Nareit Platinum Industry Partner, Sally Ann Flood, vice chair and U.S. real estate sector leader at Deloitte, shared some of the highlights of Deloitte's 2026 commercial real estate outlook. Deloitte's survey of more than 850 c-level executives across North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific revealed optimism in the sector, with a sentiment index of 65. This marked a slight pullback from last year's high of 68, Flood noted, but is still positive. “We're seeing that leaders still see commercial real estate as potentially a safe investment haven, given its performance during similar periods of uncertainty in the past,” Flood said.According to the survey, 75% of global respondents plan to increase their investment levels in real estate over the next 12 to 18 months. Flood noted that as U.S. trade policy continues to be negotiated, and with a major tax bill now signed into law, “our survey shows the United States as the top market for investment opportunity in the near term, chosen by respondents 53% of the time.” During the interview, Flood also discusses key global property sectors and trends, capital markets and access to financing, AI integration in commercial real estate, and more.

Bill Hughes, managing director, liquid strategies at Digital Bridge Investment Management, joined the latest episode of the REIT Report podcast. He discussed opportunities in listed real estate and REITs for institutional investors, the impact of liquidity on market dynamics, the importance of strategic portfolio construction in relation to interest rates, and more.Hughes noted that now is an “interesting time” for institutional investors to be thinking about their allocation to public real estate, where a number of higher quality assets are trading at material discounts to private market values. He described the public markets as having “a decent number of mispriced and interesting” investments available right now.During the interview he also noted that for DigitalBridge, focusing capital into “idiosyncratic stories within a fairly rich and diverse opportunity set that is the REIT market” provides its investors with exposure to investments that are significantly different from what they can find in the private markets or in a market cap weighted index.

In this episode, Sarah Borchersen-Keto and Uma Moriarity, senior investment strategist at CenterSquare Investment Management, discuss the implications of recent Federal Reserve decisions on interest rates and their impact on REITs and the commercial real estate market. They explore historical trends in REIT performance, current investor sentiment, and the valuation differences between public and private real estate markets. Moriarity shares insights on high conviction property types and strategies for building resilient portfolios amidst economic uncertainty.

Stacey McEvoy, partner at Hogan Lovells, was a guest on the latest episode of the REIT Report podcast. She discussed REIT transaction activity, capital raising, legal and regulatory issues facing the industry, and more. McEvoy noted that REITs demonstrated resilience in the first half of 2025 and pointed out that those REITs that have maintained disciplined balance sheets have been the most successful at navigating market volatility. “I do think the modest positive performance that REITs have experienced during these uncertain times have left them well-positioned to achieve stronger performance in 2026 as the markets stabilize,” she said. McEvoy also said the market is continuing to feel the effects of the high cost of capital from the last couple of years, along with higher cap rates. “And although those have been declining, investor sentiment remains cautious. As a result, transaction volume has been down.” 

Chad Lavender, president of capital Markets for North America at Newmark, was a guest on the latest episode of the REIT Report podcast. Lavender discussed REIT capital market activity today, including solid demand for larger asset portfolios, REIT sectors where capital is being deployed extensively, the anticipated wave of investment in alternative asset classes, and more. Lavender noted that capital market activity for the health care sector, particularly senior housing, has outperformed other asset classes over the past couple of years. Meanwhile, office REITs have also been active on the acquisition front, he noted, with many opting for JV partnerships in the process. Sovereign wealth funds in the Middle East and Asia continue to be active JV partners with REITs, he added. As for interest in alternative assets, Lavender described a “huge wave of investing,” pointing out that the digital infrastructure and data center boom “is a modern day gold rush.”

Earnest Sweat, a tech innovation expert, was a guest on the latest edition of the REIT Report podcast. In the last of a three-part miniseries, Sweat continued to examine the intersection of AI with the REIT sector, focusing on how REITs can evaluate AI pilots, partnerships, and capabilities. Sweat is a venture capitalist and general partner at Stresswood, an early-stage fund focused on backing exceptional founders building the next wave of enterprise technology. During the interview, Sweat discussed critical questions a REIT leader should ask before launching an AI initiative, as well as how REITs can balance the promise of AI with the reality of implementation, and how REIT leaders should effectively communicate the value and purpose of AI initiatives to their teams. 

Craig Ramiro, executive vice president of asset management at Armada Hoffler Properties, Inc. (NYSE: AHH), joined the latest episode of the REIT Report podcast. He discussed the company's focus on creating value—including repositioning and redevelopment opportunities across the portfolio—as well as the strong demand it sees for its class-A office properties. Ramiro noted that Armada Hoffler is benefitting from the supply-demand imbalance for top office space in the best locations. In Baltimore, for example, where the REIT has 1.6 million square feet of office space, Ramiro pointed to a “pretty astounding” level of corporate relocations. 

Mark Wojteczko, Deloitte's national real estate funds co-leader, was a guest on the latest episode of Nareit's REIT Report podcast. He reviewed findings from a recent Deloitte report into the rise of alternative property types and how upcoming changes in corporate leadership could accelerate that trend. “We do believe that the emergence of these alternative property types is going to accelerate in the future and that many next-gen leaders are going to be a big part of that,” Wojteczko said, referring to an anticipated pick-up in c-suite retirements within the next decade. “We believe that the appetite for some of these younger executives to really continue to focus on the alternative property types as an investable universe is significant and something that we're certainly monitoring here.” 

In this special episode of the REIT Report, part of an ongoing series, “Building Resilience,” covering issues facing the REIT industry as it remains focused on investing for the long term, Michael Reed, senior director of building transformation at the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), joins Nareit's Jessica Long, senior vice president of environmental stewardship and sustainability. They discuss the organization's experience working with the commercial real estate community to advance energy efficiency, delivering benefits to the energy system more broadly, including reliability and resilience.Reed shares how NYSERDA has evolved in the 50 years since it was founded as the state's atomic energy agency in the 1970s. “The mission of having energy work for, and benefit, New Yorkers, making that energy as reliable and affordable as possible, has not wavered. The challenges as we look towards the future intersect with this conversation on resilience because our climate in New York and across the world is getting hotter. There's more moisture in the air, leading to extreme weather events, but also making the job of operating buildings harder.” 

Earnest Sweat, a tech innovation expert, was a guest on the latest edition of the REIT Report podcast. In the second of a three-part miniseries, Sweat continued to examine the intersection of AI with the REIT sector, focusing on real world solutions that are transforming the industry. Sweat is a venture capitalist and general partner at Stresswood, an early-stage fund focused on backing exceptional founders building the next wave of enterprise technology. Sweat stressed that AI allows humans “to do what they do best…show empathy, be creative, be influential, and make sales.” At the same time, he underlined the importance of “really thinking about what you are doing today, what is the process, and how could this potential technology improve it,” in addition to setting definitive key performance indicators. 

In this special episode of the REIT Report, part of an ongoing series, “Building Resilience,” covering issues facing the REIT industry as it remains focused on investing for the long term, Deborah Cloutier, chief sustainability officer of Legence and the president and founder of RE Tech Advisors, joins Nareit's Jessica Long, senior vice president of environmental stewardship and sustainability, to discuss her perspective on the evolution of sustainability as part of strategic planning for building owners. She also looks at the role of data, engineering and skilled trades in advancing ROI-backed solutions that improve efficiency, resilience, and asset value. Cloutier shares how Legence is a leading provider of engineering, consulting, installation, and maintenance services for mission-critical systems in buildings, making them more energy efficient, resilient, and sustainable.

Bryan Connolly, chair of the U.S. real estate practice at DLA Piper, was a guest on the latest episode of the REIT Report. Connolly shared findings from the firm's 2025 State of the Market Survey regarding market sentiment among real estate leaders. “The biggest trend is the continued emergence of some positivity and some excitement about what the future may hold,” Connolly said. DLA Piper carried out its survey twice this year, once in early 2025 and then again after U.S. trade policies impacted sentiment. Connolly pointed out that some leaders remarked on the ability to acquire some of the best properties at 50% to 60% of replacement costs, “recognizing that troubled times yield new opportunities.” He also highlighted sentiment that the market has bottomed out and that new pricing has been established. Meanwhile, the significant amount of equity available and intended to be deployed, expectation of stabilized interest rates, and fundamentals in the market are “really creating an exciting long-term opportunity for investment.” During the interview, Connolly also discussed views on the availability of equity capital, REIT sectors generating the most interest today, the outlook for acquisitions, dispositions, and joint ventures, and more.

In this special episode of the REIT Report, part of an ongoing series, “Building Resilience,” covering issues facing the REIT industry as it remains focused on investing for the long term, Holly Neber, chief resilience officer at AEI Consultants joins Nareit's Jessica Long, senior vice president of environmental stewardship and sustainability, to discuss turning climate data into action at the property level using industry leading best practices captured in the new ASTM standard, Property Resilience Assessment. What's the property worth? What are the potential hazards, the risks?“The ASTM guide was never meant to be something extra or something brand new, but really a roadmap consistent with what firms were already doing to provide an industry-accepted standard so we can all refer back to it. So all the parties agree on a common approach to communicating the findings.” She goes on to explain the three parts of the assessment, including identifying property-specific exposure to identified risks, to estimate potential damage and downtime of identified risk exposure, and, if necessary, develop specific recommendations to address concerns. 

Mike Watts, CBRE's president of investor leasing in the Americas, was a guest on the latest episode of the REIT Report. Watts focused on trends in office supply and leasing, the impact of office conversions, tenant expectations toward amenities, and more. Watts noted that CBRE expects new office deliveries in 2025 to be about 25% of what they were in 2019. Office deliveries are not expected to pick up in 2026 either. Lack of new construction at the top of the office market creates a ripple effect as demand shifts to lower tier assets. Class B office assets still retain appeal for certain office tenants, he pointed out. Meanwhile, Watts described the tenant experience as “more important than ever,” with companies keen to create a positive work environment for all levels of employees, rather than just senior level staff. Also important today is the concept of “how the building meets the street,” he said, namely access to retail that meets the specific needs of tenants and that encourages companies to renew their leases.

Rich Hill, global head of real estate research at Principal Asset Management, was a guest on the latest episode of the REIT Report podcast. He shared insights into sentiment within the REIT space today, public-private valuations, foreign fund flows into U.S. listed real estate, the elements of a resilient, growth-oriented real estate investment portfolio, and more. Hill stressed that commercial real estate should be viewed as a “diversified portfolio of various different property types, not just in the U.S. but in Europe. There is an opportunity someplace, somewhere in the world to add value through listed REITs and we think that will continue.” He noted that adding listed REITs to a private portfolio of real estate reduces volatility. “We advocate for having a 10% to 30% allocation to listed REITs within a private portfolio of real estate because we really do think it optimizes portfolios,” he said. 

Nareit Senior Vice President for Research Ed Pierzak was a guest on the latest episode of the REIT Report to share highlights of Nareit's 2025 mid-year update. Pierzak reviewed expectations for the REIT industry coming into the year, and how the reality has played out in recent months. He described the first half of the year as a roller coaster ride for REIT investors, with turbulence resulting from new directions in trade policy and economic uncertainty. “The current thinking is that the ride may have ended at mid-year, really kind of leaving us in the same place as we started the year. But if the ride restarts due to the new tariff actions, the experience of the last six months really gives us confidence that REITs are well positioned to weather additional volatility and thrive,” Pierzak said. Elsewhere in the interview, Pierzak reviewed the state of REIT balance sheets and the impact of higher interest rates, among other topics.

Earnest Sweat, a tech innovation expert, was a guest on the latest edition of the REIT Report podcast. In the first of a three-part miniseries, Sweat began the process of examining the intersection of AI with the REIT sector.Sweat is a venture capitalist and general partner at Stresswood, an early-stage fund focused on backing exceptional founders building the next wave of enterprise technology.Sweat said technology can be beneficial because “companies are all expected to produce more with fewer resources.” He stressed the importance for REIT leaders to speak with middle management to ascertain where AI can handle repeatable tasks, and to stress to management that technology is not a “precursor to them losing their jobs.”

Adrianna Giesey, senior portfolio manager at Russell Investments, shared how the firm is providing investors with access to modern economy real estate by incorporating a specialty sector REIT strategy.“We like the REIT market to gain access to the specialty sectors, which is a nice compliment to a core real estate portfolio,” Giesey said. She added that Russell Investments expects these modern economy sectors, such as data centers and single family rentals, to see stronger cash flow growth over the medium term.The best way for investors to gain access to modern economy real estate is to trim traditional private real estate holdings and add listed specialty sectors, Giesey said. “This is the most efficient and low-cost way to access these specialty sectors at scale. We've helped clients do this in the past, and it's been a success all around.”

Conor Flynn, CEO of Kimco Realty (NYSE: KIM) and Nareit 2025 Chair, joined the 500th episode of the REIT Report to provide a close-up view of how a leading retail REIT is navigating today's complex market environment.Flynn highlighted the resiliency of both the consumer and tenant base in the open-air shopping center space, pointing out that there's been 13 years of virtually no new supply.“That obviously is a big benefit and it's showcasing in the occupancy side because occupancies now are at all-time highs. Even with some disruption from tariffs and some smaller bankruptcies, retailers are continuing to expand their footprint and have identified that the store base is really the best opportunity, and the most profitable, to service the consumer in as many ways as possible,” Flynn said.He noted that convenience and value are “the sweet spot of where consumers are focused today.”

Matt Werner, managing director & senior portfolio manager at Chilton Capital Management, joined the latest episode of the Nareit REIT Report podcast to discuss why investing in an active REIT strategy today is attractive for a number of reasons.Werner said tariff-induced volatility is a “perfect environment” for an active REIT strategy “because we're able to take advantage of things that we think are selling off more than they should or trimming things that maybe are outperforming our expectations.”He added that across almost all property types, REITs are seeing “growing dividends at the same time as being on the cusp of accelerating earnings.” Valuations also look “pretty fair, especially relative to equities. They look extremely undervalued relative to the historical averages.”

Tim Bodner, real estate deals leader at PwC, joined the latest episode of Nareit's REIT Report to discuss what today's uncertain market environment means for investment patterns and transaction activity.Bodner described transaction activity across a range of real estate sectors, including office, hospitality, senior housing, data centers, and energy infrastructure, as “fairly robust.” He stressed that the real estate sector is used to operating in periods of uncertainty and cyclical change, while noting that REITs are focusing on what they can control and are “in a good place at this stage, given everything that's going on.”He also pointed out that there's a lot of activity around figuring out what's the right scale to have to operate in this new environment, “which likely will lead to more public to public and public to private transaction activity in the REIT space.”

Michael Seton, president and CEO of Sila Realty Trust, Inc . (NYSE: SILA), joined the latest episode of Nareit's REIT Report podcast to reflect upon the one-year anniversary of the company's listing on the New York Stock Exchange.Seton said he is “extremely optimistic” about Sila's future, noting that the REIT is scaled to grow its portfolio, which currently exceeds $2 billion in assets. He said “very high quality” opportunities exist throughout the marketplace.“If a seller is trying to bring a product to market today to raise capital or sell a property, it's got to be high quality because capital, generally speaking in the market, is constrained,” he said. While focused nationally, Sila has a particular emphasis on Sun Belt states.During the interview, Seton discussed Sila's decision to do a direct listing on the NYSE and why it was confident in that choice, as well as what its Wall Street sponsorship looks like today. He also highlighted the tailwinds supporting the health care sector and described what makes health care so compelling to investors right now.

In this episode of the REIT Report special series, “Building Resilience,” Joanna Frank, Founder, CEO, and President of Center for Active Design, shares how focusing on health and wellness in the built environment builds resilience by focusing on the human impact of extreme weather events.In this special episode of the REIT Report, part of an ongoing series, “Building Resilience,” covering issues facing the REIT industry as it remains focused on investing for the long term, Joanna Frank, Founder, CEO, and President of Center for Active Design (CfAD), operator of Fitwel and Active Design Advisors, Inc (Adai) to discuss how public health strategies are helping to transform the built environment and support communities to be more resilient.“How do we use our built environment to create an environment that is resilient and can foster that quality of life and safety for the residents? This was first, I think, brought to the public stage at COP 28, where there was an entire day about health because the true cost of climate change can really only be calculated when you consider the health impacts, not just in this country, but globally, and they are massive.”

Patrick Wilson, a portfolio manager for CenterSquare Investment Management's real estate securities group, was a guest on the latest episode of the REIT Report podcast. He noted that REITs are currently in a “pretty enviable position,” which has translated into greater interest in increasing REIT allocations from CenterSquare's existing investor base, as well as from prospective clients.“In a typical garden variety recession, which rhymes with higher unemployment, lower consumption spending, REITs tend to fare well given the long duration contractual leases that they have in place, the higher dividend income which is creating current income, and their values being tied to underlying physical asset bases,” Wilson said.Elsewhere in the interview, Wilson reviewed public versus private real estate valuations, potential opportunities in market dislocation, global trends in REIT markets, the diversity benefits REITs offer, and more.

In this special episode of the REIT Report, part of an ongoing series, “Building Resilience,” covering issues facing the REIT industry as it remains focused on investing for the long term, Daniel Kaniewski, Managing Director, Public Sector at Marsh McLennan, joins Nareit's Jessica Long, Senior Vice President of Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability, to discuss how his experience as the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) first deputy administrator for resilience has led to his current focus advancing resilience investment in the private sector.“During Hurricane Katrina, I was at the White House and saw the mass devastation, and I said, shouldn't we be doing something ahead of time to reduce these disaster losses Americans will almost inevitably face. What I found was there was a small but growing interest in an area called disaster resilience.”Currently, Kaniewski chairs the finance, insurance, and real estate committee at the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS), a congressionally chartered nonprofit. He shares how he first got to know NIBS through their 2005 Natural Hazard Mitigation Saves study, which showed that every dollar the federal government invested in hazard mitigation saved four dollars. Then in 2017, “on the heels of hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria,” Kaniewski asked NIBS for the bottom line of a forthcoming updated Mitigation Saves study. “They shared that savings were actually, six to one. The updated report found that others benefited from these mitigation investments beyond the federal government. Communities that can continue to function after a disaster will save money, not just to the homeowner or the federal government, but to everyone in that community who would otherwise have to take the time to help those with the losses. Recovery costs were greatly reduced by those hazard mitigation investments.”

Matt Birenbaum, chief investment officer at AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE: AVB), joined the REIT Report podcast to discuss the multifamily REIT's development strategy, including the repurposing of outdated assets, as well as demand drivers in the build-to-rent segment, mixed-use development opportunities, and more.Birenbaum touched on some of the major themes in the multifamily sector today, including the increase in migration to suburban locations and the desire for larger format housing on the part of millennials. That has led to increased demand for build-to-rent homes, an area that AvalonBay is increasing its focus on.Birenbaum also noted that about a third of the REIT's communities have a retail component. “When you get it right, the whole truly can be more than the sum of the parts. And for us, this is an area where I think we do have a competitive advantage being a REIT because we are building and owning these assets for the long term.”

 In this episode of the REIT Report special series, “Building Resilience,” Dr. Jeremy Porter, head of climate implications research at First Street Foundation, shares  how data supports real estate stakeholders in making informed decisions and adapt to more extreme weather events.  In this special episode of the REIT Report, part of an ongoing series, “Building Resilience,” covering issues facing the REIT industry as it remains focused on investing for the long term, Jeremy Porter, head of climate implications research at  First Street Foundation , joins Nareit's Jessica Long, senior vice president of environmental stewardship and sustainability, to discuss how high-resolution climate models are helping people to understand property-specific impacts from different weather events and to develop and implement adaptation plans.  “One of the ways in which we've thought about climate risk is a one-in-a-100-year event, which implies that if I just had a one-in-a-100-year flood, I don't have to worry about another one, I'm not going to live to be 100 years old. That's not actually how they work,” Porter explains. “Understanding that every year there's an independent opportunity for that probability of an event to occur, so if you look out over the 30 years of a standard residential mortgage, a 1% chance of flooding every year means that over those 30 years, you have a 26% chance of flooding. And so suddenly you're saying, wow, I have over a quarter chance of flooding over the lifetime of my mortgage.” 

Darrell Crate, co-founder and CEO of Easterly Government Properties, Inc . (NYSE: DEA), joined Nareit's REIT Report podcast to share his insight into how the REIT is addressing the commercial real estate needs of mission-critical U.S. government agencies.Crate noted that Easterly has been focused on efficiency since before the Trump administration created the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). “DOGE is a tailwind. We could not be more excited that the government's going to have the opportunity, through better processes, to take some of our ideas and move them forward,” he said.

David Schanuel, president and COO of SageWater, joined a sponsored episode of the REIT Report podcast to discuss the importance in the multifamily sector of including plumbing and mechanical infrastructure in capital improvement planning.SageWater helps multifamily owners protect their investment and improve residents' quality of life through turnkey plumbing and mechanical infrastructure solutions. With forensic diagnosis, engineering design, and construction services, they upgrade and install critical systems while renters remain in their homes.Schanuel noted that SageWater primarily focuses on the “substantial amount” of aged infrastructure in the multifamily sector that was delivered in the 1950s-1970s, and sometimes the early 1980s. “Their plumbing and mechanical systems have aged out or phased out of their useful life and really need to be addressed to ensure that the housing stock remains a top-quality asset for the ownership groups that maintain and rent out those facilities.”

David Giulieri and Michael Svec, senior portfolio management directors and certified financial planners with the Chesapeake Capitol Group at Morgan Stanley, were guests on Nareit's REIT Report podcast. In recognition of April as Financial Literacy Month, Giulieri and Svec touched on a range of topics relevant to novice and seasoned investors alike.Both Giulieri and Svec emphasized the importance of staying calm and focused in today's volatile market environment. “If you can stay disciplined during times like this, the odds of success skyrocket,” Giulieri said. Svec advised listeners to “have a plan, stick to it, and do your best to keep the emotion out of it.”During the interview, Giulieri and Svec also addressed:key questions to ask a potential financial advisorhow to balance the need to have funds available for key financial milestones, like buying a home or paying for college, with ensuring that you're also saving for retirementadvice for anyone already on the investment path, with a 401K or other investment vehicle, who's tempted to look at their latest account statement right nowwhether this is potentially a good time to either begin investing in the markets or to put additional funds inwhat a balanced investment portfolio might look like and how REITs could fit into that

Rob Main, managing partner at the shareholder advisory firm Jasper Street, joined the latest episode of Nareit's REIT Report podcast. He discussed sustainability reporting and practical steps REITs can take to navigate the proxy season.Main described the corporate mood heading into proxy season as “anxious.” For many companies, however, as long as they've been engaging with their investors, have good disclosure, and aren't viewed as outliers by institutional investors, “they're probably going to have a good proxy season,” he said.Investors, meanwhile, are “cautious,” he said, and are likely to be more “tight-lipped” given recent SEC guidance. At the same time, their core belief about the importance of strong governance practices remains intact.

Danny Ismail, co-head of strategic research at Green Street, joined Nareit's REIT Report podcast to discuss how real estate and REITs are positioned in the current highly volatile market environment created by last week's White House announcement on tariffs.Ismail said there's good reason to fear a slowdown in economic growth resulting from an increase in tariffs, not just from potentially higher import costs, but also a pullback in business investment as well as consumer spending.As for the market response, “we'll see how the next few weeks shake out, but thus far REITs and real estate appear to be a relative safe haven,” Ismail said. One reason for that is the starting valuation of REITs prior to the tariff announcement, where REITs looked attractive relative to the S&P 500. “REITs came into this environment on the cheaper side, while private real estate came in looking fairly valued,” Ismail noted.

Sherry Rexroad, executive vice president and CFO at Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:PDM), was a guest on the latest episode of Nareit's REIT Report podcast.Rexroad discussed ways to work within the current environment of shifting interest rates, recession worries, and geopolitical tensions in order to remain consistent on strategy. “It's really important to differentiate between short-term volatility and secular change. Short-term volatility needs to be managed and monitored. It can be a distraction if you let it be,” she said.She noted that between 2019 and 2022, Piedmont shifted $1.4 billion of assets, or roughly a third of the portfolio, out of Chicago, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New Jersey, and Cambridge, Massachusetts, and into Atlanta and Dallas.

Vikram Malhotra, managing director, real estate equities and research at Mizuho, joined the latest episode of the Nareit REIT Report podcast to share some of the findings from recent Mizuho research into the economic and investment implications likely to result from an aging population.Malhotra noted that the 75-plus cohort in the United States is set to grow at about 4% per annum over the next five to 10 years. By 2030, the group will represent 10% of the total population, up from 7.5% today. At the same time, their spending is expected to grow over 80%, or $700 billion, through 2030.

Nareit Hawaii Executive Director Gladys Quinto Marrone was a guest on the latest episode of Nareit's REIT Report podcast. Marrone discussed the mission of Nareit Hawaii, including its community outreach work.As to how the Nareit Hawaii Community Giving Initiative, established by the Nareit Foundation, goes about selecting the programs it chooses to support, Marrone noted, “We try to ensure that grantees come from all around the state and serve as many people as possible.”Typically, four to five Nareit Foundation grants have been awarded annually, totaling about $350,000 to $400,000. In addition, five to six grants a year totaling $150,000 to $200,000, from Nareit Hawaii are awarded to nonprofits supporting a variety of charitable causes.https://nareithawaii.com/

Ji Zhang, portfolio manager for global real estate at Cohen & Steers, was a guest on the latest episode of Nareit's REIT Report podcast. Zhang spoke about her firm's recent entry into the active exchange traded fund space, including the Cohen & Steers Real Estate Active ETF.Zhang explained that the ETF is designed specifically to invest in “high conviction ideas” in U.S. REITs, while opportunistically investing in international and other real estate-related securities. “The ultimate goal is to provide total return and portfolio diversification,” she said.The backdrop for REIT fundamentals is “quite healthy,” supported by steady demand and meaningfully below-trend supply, Zhang said

Bill Ferguson, co-chairman and CEO of Ferguson Partners, and Mike Cordingley, who leads Ferguson's North American Management Consulting and Leadership Consulting Business Units, were guests on Nareit's REIT Report podcast. Ferguson and Cordingley discussed their latest research into REIT CEO succession trends and shared best practices for transition planning.“Succession is, if not the highest priority for the board, one of the highest priorities,” Ferguson said. He noted that there were seven CEO succession events per year from 2013 to 2022. In 2023, there were nine and in 2024 that increased to 12.Cordingley noted that the acceleration is set to continue for a number of reasons, including increasing activist involvement and an aging leadership cohort. “The average age per REIT CEO is 60 and typical retirement is occurring around 64,” he said.

Maaike van Bragt, senior research associate, and Chris Flynn, head of product development at CEM Benchmarking, were guests on the latest episode of Nareit's REIT Report podcast. Van Bragt and Flynn discussed some of the findings from the 2024 CEM Benchmarking study into investment performance across various asset classes.In research sponsored by Nareit, CEM Benchmarking took a comprehensive look at investment allocations and realized investment performance across 12 asset classes over a 25-year period (1998–2022). While private equity was the strongest performer over that period, with an average net return of about 12%, REITs and U.S. small cap stocks came in second place with average returns of about 9.7%. Returns for private real estate were about 7.7% during the 25-year period.Van Bragt said CEM's research “really shows that on a net return basis, REITs have done really well in the past 25 years. And so if you have real estate in your asset allocation, I think you should seriously consider using REITs or at least adding them to it.”Read the CEM Study: https://www.reit.com/data-research/research/updated-cem-benchmarking-study-highlights-reit-performance

Melinda McLaughlin, global head of research at Prologis, Inc . (NYSE: PLD), was a guest on the latest episode of Nareit's REIT Report podcast. She discussed broad trends impacting logistics today, including global trade, delivery speeds, new construction, e-commerce, rising barriers to supply, standout global markets, and more.McLaughlin said 2025 looks set to be a “solid year” for both consumption and global trade, based on strong labor markets. E-commerce, meanwhile, is “absolutely gaining market share in all of our markets around the world,” she noted.At the same time, there's been a lack of construction for the largest logistics buildings since 2022, McLaughlin pointed out. “Today, and looking at 2025 as a whole, we see deliveries down 35% year over year for all types of logistics real estate, but that number is a 65% decline for bulk buildings, so really setting the stage for demand and supply to rebalance and maybe even have some scarcity in certain markets.”

Allan Swaringen, president and CEO of JLL Income Property Trust, was a guest on the latest episode of Nareit's REIT Report podcast.JLL IPT is a daily NAV REIT that owns and manages a diversified portfolio of apartment, industrial, grocery-anchored retail, health care, and office properties located in the United States.Swaringen said JLL IPT's mission is to be a hybrid investment that balances the stability of performance in the private real estate markets with the same history of consistent, growing dividends that public REIT investors look for.

Three members of Citi's global real estate research team—Nick Joseph in the United States, Aaron Guy in the U.K., and Howard Penny in Australia—joined the latest episode of the Nareit REIT Report podcast to share their thoughts on regional outlooks and sector performance.Macro fundamentals, interest rates, and geopolitical sentiment are mixed globally, resulting in stock preferences that are heavily driven by regional teams' micro analysis, Joseph said.The key driver behind Citi's list of most preferred stocks in 2025 is the presence of positive rental growth, with rental growth weakness and high valuation the key reasons for the least preferred subsectors. Sector preferences are not globally consistent, Joseph stressed, highlighting the presence of significant local supply and demand drivers.Regionally, Citi is most positive on the U.S., Australia, Europe, the Philippines, and Indonesia, and more cautious on China, Latin America, India, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Thailand.

Richard Barkham, chief economist at CBRE, was a guest on the latest episode of Nareit's REIT Report podcast.CBRE is forecasting GDP growth of about 2.3% this year. With the economic momentum of 2024 continuing into 2025, “I think we're seeing the slow start to a new real estate cycle,” as vacancy begins to trend lower and rental growth generally firms and starts to head higher, Barkham said.Barkham described investor sentiment as “very positive” given the GDP forecast and the outlook for the year, “and based on the fact that people haven't been active for two or three years, or not very active….people are anxious to get moving and adjust their portfolios and deploy capital.”

Abby McCarthy, Nareit's senior vice president for investment affairs, joined the REIT Report podcast to discuss the value REITs can provide to an overall investment portfolio. “REITs offer investors a low cost, effective, and liquid means of investing in commercial real estate. As real estate stocks, they provide meaningful benefits to investment portfolios, which does include competitive long-term total returns, a strong portfolio diversification, and stable dividend income,” McCarthy said.Research shows that 78% of financial advisors recommend REITs to their clients, McCarthy said, with advisors appreciating their dividend income, diversification opportunities, strong risk-adjusted returns, and liquidity.