4 Real

This year's CREFC Annual Conference drew standing-room-only panels, a sign that the market has given industry leaders plenty to talk about. In this episode of Dechert's 4 Real podcast, host Jon Gaynor and series producer Stewart McQueen sit down with Lisa Pendergast, President and CEO of CREFC, to break down the conference's biggest themes and where she thinks the industry will go f...

What if the insurance program you thought was protecting your deal is actually what's putting it at risk? In this episode of our 4 Real podcast, hosts Jon Gaynor, Sam Gilbert and Kate Mylod sit down with Emily Rasmussen, President and COO of Resilience Insurance Analytics, to break down what lenders, borrowers and attorneys need to know about property insurance in commercial real estate today...

In this episode of Dechert 4 Real, hosts Jon Gaynor and Sam Gilbert welcome Moody’s Ratings’ SVP and former Dechert lawyer Dan Rubock to the podcast for an in-depth look at his career shaping how the agency evaluates the legal architecture of CMBS deals. They also go extra innings on insurance risk, data centers, Canadian CMBS and AI, and share some favorite sports memories.

Artificial intelligence is everywhere, but aren’t the implications for commercial real estate limited to data centers? In this episode, 4 Real hosts Jon Gaynor and Sam Gilbert sit down with Dechert litigation counsel Wilfred T. Beaye, Jr. for the AI breakdown that every CRE decision-maker needs to hear, including where AI can be most powerful, why governance is lagging behind development, which pr...

Which CRE discussions energized the record-breaking and decidedly optimistic attendees at this year’s CREFC Conference in Miami? In this special edition of Dechert’s 4 Real podcast, Matt Armstrong, Jon Gaynor, Sam Gilbert, Stewart McQueen and Kate Mylod dive into the overall mood of the conference – which signaled resilience in the market despite geopolitical risks – as well as property performanc...

In our final episode for 2025, Dechert 4 Real hosts Jon Gaynor and Sam Gilbert are joined by corporate partner Ross MacConnell for an inside look on rated funds and their intersection with commercial real estate. Plus, we get into the 411 on the New York LLC Transparency Act and share our favorite holiday movies.

In our 28th episode, Dechert 4 Real hosts Jon Gaynor and Kate Mylod sit down with Richard Flohr of CrossHarbor Capital Partners for a discussion on all things transitional lending, including construction financing and Richard’s passion for industrial CRE. Plus, Dechert partner Mauricio España stops by with the 411 on recent cases involving Western Alliance and Zions Bank, and the group gets “4 Rea...

What’s driving the robust and very competitive transitional multifamily real estate market? In this episode of 4 Real, hosts Jon Gaynor and Matt Armstrong highlight changes and emerging opportunities in this market with Russell Avery, Managing Director at Limekiln Real Estate Investment Management and Head of Capital Markets for their MF1 joint venture with Berkshire. The conversation explores the...

How does fund finance fit into leading investment firms’ broader lending strategies? In this edition of Dechert’s 4 Real podcast, hosts Jon Gaynor and Stewart McQueen sit down with Missy Dolski and Jim Dunbar of Värde Partners to discuss the launch of Värde’s new fund finance platform, CRE CLO collapses, areas of distress in real estate, issuance trends, opportunities on the horizon and much more....

What is driving the uptick in real estate M&A activity? Dechert 4 Real hosts Jon Gaynor and Sam Gilbert sit down with global finance partner Justin Gdula to discuss the mechanics of real estate-backed M&A transactions, the factors that led to their resurgence, the challenges lenders and borrowers face in navigating these complex deals and the critical elements that ensure successful closin...

  Has a “bullishly measured” commercial real estate outlook for 2025 become “cautiously fatigued”? Dechert 4 Real’s Matt Armstrong, Jon Gaynor, Stewart McQueen and Kate Mylod rank the 5 biggest takeaways from this year’s CREFC Annual Conference in New York, ranging from the vibe shift since January’s conference in Miami, the uncertainty the CRE market is currently processing, repo trends, GSEs usi...

Looking for a primer on the top-of-mind terms and topics in bankruptcy matters today? Dechert 4 Real has you covered as hosts Jon Gaynor and Kate Mylod sit down with David Herman, partner in Dechert’s financial restructuring group, to highlight his “hot takes”/hot tips on the space, including thoughts on substantive consolidation, automatic stay, prepackaged bankruptcy and more! Plus, Dechert part...

Recording for the first time in Dechert’s Charlotte office, 4 Real’s Jon Gaynor, Sam Gilbert and Ella Smith invite Trimont Chief of Staff Cindy Barreda and Senior Managing Director Leslie Hayton to the pod to discuss Trimont’s recent acquisition of the Wells Fargo third-party commercial mortgage servicing platform, CRE trends to watch in the current and future economic landscapes and how they’re u...

Spring is in the air as Dechert 4 Real’s Jon Gaynor, Ella Smith and Sam Gilbert take a fresh look at the world of real estate debt funds with Dechert financial services partner Gerry Brown, discussing market trends, the benefits of evergreen funds vs. closed-end funds, how tokenization will impact this space and much more. Plus, CMBS associate Parker Lacoste joins the show with updates on the SEC’...

Listen to the top five biggest takeaways from the CREFC annual conference in Miami on our first episode of 2025 with Dechert 4 Real Podcast co-host Jon Gaynor and producers Matt Armstrong, Kate Mylod and Stewart McQueen (who also co-chaired the conference). Get the inside scoop on the overall vibe, insights from keynote speaker Ron Howard, thoughts on increasing back-leverage options in commercial...

Dechert 4 Real hosts Jon Gaynor, Ella Smith and Sam Gilbert sit down with Dechert finance & real estate partner Justin Gdula to discuss the latest trends in data center deals, real estate M&A activity and Canadian CMBS. Plus, Dechert partner Jay Southgate discusses the impact this November’s U.S. presidential election may have on commercial real estate finance, the hosts discuss their plea...

  What is the current state of commercial mortgage-backed security, or CMBS? Dechert 4 Real hosts Jon Gaynor, Ella Smith and Sam Gilbert invite the managing director and head of North American CMBS ratings activity at Morningstar DBRS, Erin Stafford, to the podcast to break down the current headwinds and opportunities in the CMBS space, from climate change’s impact on CMBS ratings to the industry’...

Dechert global finance partner Ani Ravi joins Dechert 4 Real hosts Jon Gaynor, Ella Smith and Sam Gilbert for an informative discussion about the relationship between NAV facilities, subscription lines and repo financing, the evolving nature and implementation of NAV facilities, potential NAV pitfalls and the growing interest in this market segment. Plus, Dechert national security partner Hrishi H...

Dechert 4 Real hosts Jon Gaynor, Ella Smith and Sam Gilbert are joined by Barclays Head of CMBS Research Lea Overby to discuss commercial real estate trends we can expect in the second half of 2024, floating rate debt risk, lessons learned from the “Mall Apocalypse” and why “forklift offices” are better than “cave offices.” Plus, Dechert’s Steve Engel shares his thoughts on the Supreme Court’s rec...

Dechert’s Jon Gaynor, Kate Mylod, Stewart McQueen and Matt Armstrong dive into the biggest conversations coming out of the 2024 CREFC Annual Conference in New York, including return-to-office trends, the “acceptance of reality” in the commercial real estate industry, what’s really happening in those “invitation only” sessions, and keynote speaker Trevor Noah’s poignant thoughts about airplane turb...

Hosts Jon Gaynor, Ella Smith and Sam Gilbert welcome BMO Capital Markets Managing Director Leah Nivison to discuss recent trends in the agency commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) market, the importance of mentorship in the commercial real estate industry and why you should add petting an elephant to your summer vacation plans. Plus, we talk about Fitch requesting feedback on its proposed...

In this episode of Dechert 4 Real, hosts Jon Gaynor, Ella Smith and Sam Gilbert are joined by partner Lindsay Trapp, who breaks down the intricacies of the structuring and formation of complex credit private funds, rated feeder and parallel funds and collateralized fund obligations (CFOs), including rating considerations and the impact on managers looking to raise insurance capital in the commerci...

What impact do high interest rates and appreciating home values have on single-family rentals? In this episode of our 4 Real podcast, our hosts Jon Gaynor, Ella-Marie Smith and Sam Gilbert join Dechert partner Ken Hackman to discuss the popular single-family rental (SFR) asset class and the rise of 'build to rent' properties, while also providing insights into recent CRE CLO delinquencie...

In our latest episode, hosts Jon Gaynor , Ella-Marie Smith and Sam Gilbert are joined by Dechert partners Laura Swihart and Matthew Fischer to discuss non-performing loan securitizations (NPLs) and the unexpected collateral used in these transactions. We also chat about current issues in the commercial real estate market related to the proposed Basel III Endgame, which could increase regulatory ca...

In our first episode of 2024, co-host Jon Gaynor and producers Matt Armstrong , Stewart McQueen and Kate Mylod play a round of CREFC Roulette following the Council’s annual January conference in Miami. Topics include overall industry sentiment, interest rate expectations, the future of multifamily, and more.