Nareit's REIT Report Podcast Nareit

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.”Register for Nareit's REITweek: 2024 Investor Conference: https://go.reit.com/reitweekRR