Deconstruct

The foretold wall of CMBS maturities has hit and early data on office loans signals the fears around repayments — that troubled owners won't be able to swing it — are being realized. Deconstruct talks with Moody's Analytics Senior Director and Head of CRE Economic Analysis Kevin Fagan and Director of CRE Economics Matt Reidy.

For the most part, construction lending has dried up across the country, with more and more regional banks pulling back from financing ground-up real estate projects. But Kennedy Wilson, a lender based out of Los Angeles, sees opportunity in that. With more lenders on the sidelines, Kennedy Wilson can take advantage of lending to what it determines are the best borrowers and the best projects. And...

When the National Association of Realtors announced it had proposed to settle a landmark antitrust suit over real estate agent commissions for $418 million, everyone had questions. The Real Deal's Deconstruct breaks down what is changing — and what is not. TRD reporters Sheridan Wall and Harrison Connery discuss NAR's new rule prohibiting broker compensation offers on the MLS, or multiple listing...

In December, Democrats in Congress introduced a bill that would put an end to hedge fund ownership of single-family homes. As demand for single-family rentals continues to grow, developers specializing in build-to-rent claim they'll get burnt. Deconstruct breaks down who's in the crosshairs and the likelihood that legislation can rein in the investment giants.

From Chicago to San Francisco, office buildings continue to trade at astonishing discounts and reappraisals show value declines as high as 80 percent. But is there further left to fall? The Real Deal's Chicago Bureau Chief Sam Lounsberry and West Coast Bureau Chief Isabella Farr weigh in.

Gil Dezer knows how to build branded condos. From the Porsche Design Tower to the Armani Residences in South Florida, Dezer is now focused on building the Bentley Residences. Despite growing up in New York City, Dezer is now Miami through and through and remains bullish about the city and South Florida in general — and believes people will keep shelling out big bucks to live there. Deconstruct cha...

If you're on RETwit (now Real Estate X), you've probably read Don Tepman's posts. You just didn't know it. Tepman, who heads University Avenue Partners, is StripMallGuy, the once anonymous X account that amassed over 200k followers since 2021. Tepman, now unmasked, sits down with Deconstruct to talk why he went public and of course, what's next for strip malls.

For the last six months, Arbor Realty Trust has been the target of a prominent short seller, Viceroy Research, which claims that a huge chunk of its collateralized loan obligation, or CLO, portfolio is in trouble. Arbor, though it denies the short seller's numbers, said it is experiencing challenges and delinquencies are set to rise. And the company is not afraid to go after non-performing borrowe...

After the 2008 financial crisis, investment managers came up with a new securitized product: the collateralized loan obligation, or CLO, for commercial real estate. It was designed to correct some of the risks that came with its predecessor, the collateralized debt obligation. But what exactly is the CRE CLO and how does it work? Deconstruct enlisted attorney and CLO expert Stewart McQueen at Dech...

New York Community Bank reported a surprise loss in the fourth quarter, took an axe to its dividend and socked away over $500 million for commercial real estate losses. The bank's stock sunk to a 23-year low and other regional lenders fell in response. Is NYCB a red flag or a one-off for CRE distress in the banking space? Deconstruct digs in.

Not many commercial brokers branch out to start their own brokerages. But in 2015, Kyle Matthews did. Today, his Nashville-based firm Matthews Real Estate has done more than $50 billion in deals and about 650 agents. Most of what Matthews is focused on is advising clients — helping buyers and sellers sort out investments and identify pockets of opportunity. At a time when some asset classes (hint:...

Heading into 2024, rate cuts are the silver lining on everyone’s mind. Still, Ron Dickerman, founder and president of private equity firm Madison International Realty, sees 2024 as a “transitional year.” As capital cautiously comes off the sidelines, Dickerman talks opportunity in the wall of maturities and which asset classes he’s eyeing. Hint: Cold storage is on the come-up

Pull back the cover of The Real Deal's January issue and you'll find NIMBY vs. YIMBY battles unfolding across the country. Deconstruct talks with TRD senior reporters and bureau chiefs to unpack what's driving development and blocking construction in New York, South Florida, Los Angeles, Austin and Chicago.

Imagine a scenario where you, a developer, could pick a site on a map and discover exactly what you could build there. No more hiring experts, contacting the city, finding ways to match zoning requirements. Deepblocks, run by Olivia Ramos, is trying to do exactly that and more, using artificial intelligence. Deconstruct sat down with Ramos at The Real Deal's annual Miami Forum last November to cha...

The Real Deal dubbed New York’s last legislative session the “housing session that wasn’t.” Developers desperate for a 421a tax abatement replacement went home empty handed. Tenant advocates saw no movement on the renter protection good cause eviction. Could 2024 be different? Alicia Glen, housing expert and deputy mayor for housing and economic development under the De Blasio Administration, thin...

In early November, the Deconstruct team flew to Miami for The Real Deal's annual showcase and forum. We're bringing you an interview we did live with the founders of Kaizen AI, Jay Shah and Anuj Shah. Kaizen uses artificial intelligence to analyze building designs, then retrofits them to be the most profitable project for any given space, taking developer wants into account.

You know the story: interest rates rose and deal flow slowed. After a year and half of sluggish trading, what's next for NYC's investment sales market? Avison Young's Head of Tri-State Investment Sales James Nelson lays out the market dynamics set to drive office and multifamily deals. Ariel Property Advisors' Founder Shimon Shkury gets granular on the distress affecting the rent-stabilized market...

"It's the case of the haves and the have nots." Real estate investment firm Ivanhoé Cambridge is facing the same issues as every other investment firm: how do you correctly manage an office portfolio right now? For the firm's head of office and life sciences investments, Jonathan Pearce, it's all about separating assets into buckets: the good ones worth throwing new cash on, and the ones underperf...

In early November, the Deconstruct team flew to Miami for The Real Deal's annual showcase and forum. We're bringing you two interviews we recorded on site at the event. First, you'll hear from Miami star broker Dora Puig about the state of the residential market. After that, Edgardo Defortuna and Ana Christina Defortuna at Fortune International Group talk about the hotel-branded residence market,...

On the last day of October, a jury found the National Association of Realtors and two brokerages — HomeServices of America and Keller Williams Realty — guilty of conspiring to artificially inflate broker commissions. The verdict immediately spurred a copycat suit and could inspire dozens more. The Department of Justice is eyeing its own case and policy changes could be on the table. The...

Fredrik Eklund is now actually on 24/7. The "Million Dollar Listing" star broker and his partner John Gomes have launched a new AI tool called Maya, which allows buyers and agents to dig through listings and ask the bot general real estate questions. The Real Deal's Deconstruct sat down with Eklund to chat about his new AI venture and took Maya for a test drive.

Two years back, when money was still cheap, a new crop of investors was getting in on the red-hot multifamily market. Syndicators — investors who pool money to buy properties — turned to floating-rate debt to quickly close on deals when demand was at its peak. After a year and a half of rate hikes, many of those fledgling investors are now grappling with distress. Nuvo Capital Partners' Brian Unde...

"A slow-moving train wreck." That's what Daniel McNamara, the founder of Polpo Capital, calls the upcoming wall of maturities — the massive amount of commercial mortgage-backed securities coming due in the next year or two. Many, especially those who used floating-rate debt are facing a triple threat: the triple whammy of higher interest rates, lower valuations and more conservative lending. All o...

In the early '90s, Ethan Penner pioneered the commercial mortgage-backed security. Thirty years later, the father of CMBS breaks down the investment product's origin story, the writing on the wall before the Great Recession and the CRE downturn of today.

Tighter lending conditions have proved a thorn in the side of many Miami developers. But not Swire Properties. Henry Bott, the new president of the firm's American arm, discusses development plans for the last piece of land on Brickell Key, plus the mainland office supertall it's building with Related.