NAIOP Podcast: Inside CRE NAIOP

As managing director and chief U.S. economist at CoStar Group, Christine Cooper, Ph.D., provides insights and analysis of national and regional macroeconomic conditions across the nation. She joined the podcast to share CoStar’s near-term forecast for the industrial sector, discuss the risk factors still out there with the supply chain, and why the Fed’s interest rate cuts haven’t materialized so far this year. Christine predicts that we haven’t seen the end of office delinquencies this cycle, talks about how retail has benefited from “disciplined development,” and explains the critical and often overlooked connection between the housing market and the industrial market. Recorded on March 27, 2024.

Can we stick the “soft landing”? Rebecca Rockey, Deputy Chief Economist and Global Head of Forecasting at Cushman & Wakefield, joins the podcast to catch us up on the current state of the economy with an eye to commercial real estate. She pinpoints the areas of the economy under significant pressure, defines “rolling recession,” and addresses the disconnect between public perception of the economy and what the data demonstrates. The good news? She’s feeling confident about her forecast for this year, which includes an acceleration in the second half of 2024. Recorded on Feb. 21, 2024.

Political commentator and journalist Chris Cillizza spent four years as an editor at large at CNN and regularly appeared as a political analyst on the network’s airwaves. He joins Aquiles Suarez, NAIOP’s senior vice president for government affairs, to talk about the upcoming presidential election, including his predictions for the hot-button issues prioritized by each candidate, the kitchen-table concerns that will drive Americans’ view of the economy, and how journalists can regain the public trust. He even shares a memorable anecdote about a local representative foiled by a golden toilet. Recorded February 13, 2024.

Nearshoring expert Rafael McCadden joins the podcast to share his outlook on how industrial real estate in Mexico has evolved and continues to expand. Projected to attract $35 billion in foreign investments over the next five years, Mexico is now the premier trade partner for the U.S. McCadden has more than 30 years’ experience as an industrial and logistics strategist representing corporations in multiple markets throughout Mexico. McCadden talks with guest host Shaine Anderson on the advantages and challenges for Mexico’s industrial markets. Recorded January 31, 2024.

Our 2024 NAIOP Chair Brian Walker, president of Pittsburgh-based Burns Scalo Real Estate, kicks off season two of the Inside CRE podcast. Brian shares his goals for the year (and the headwinds to fight through), why “operating brilliantly” can be more critical than savvy deal-making, and how to prioritize communication in a confusing market. He and Marc discuss the renewed importance of creating value and opportunity throughout a project lifecycle, how climate change is working its way into valuations, and the area he’s challenging himself to focus more on. Brian has some interesting stories – hear how he considered a run for office and received a death threat (!) within the same week. Recorded Jan. 18, 2024.

Nicholas Pell sees the big picture – he has to. As president and chief investment officer for Link Logistics, formed by Blackstone in 2019, he is responsible for managing the company’s immense U.S.-based industrial real estate portfolio spanning over 500 million square feet, which a full 5% of U.S. GDP flows through. In this episode, Nick talks to Marc about operating in the current choppy capital markets, why he expects a strong leasing environment in 2024, and the challenges inherent when focusing on infill development, as Link does. Six data scientists sit outside Nick’s office; he explains how Link is embracing the potential applications of AI and finding new ways to get data into the hands of decisionmakers more efficiently, underwriting better and faster. He also shares one thing that never gets old: making the deal. Recorded Nov. 27, 2023.