Nareit's Reit Report Podcast

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 inve

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 priva

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

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 opportuni

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 estima

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 thei

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.”