Commercial Real Estate Now

AI in commercial real estate isn't about robots replacing brokers, it's about clearing the administrative grind so humans can do the relationship-driven work only they can do. Choon Lee, CEO of Abstra and Abstra Point, joins Karly Iacono to break down 15 years of building AI for lease abstraction and site tracking, why CRE has lagged the AI adoption curve, and his three-part framework for...

Commercial Real Estate Now | Episode with Hue Chen, President & CEO of Saglo Companies Karly Iacono sits down with Hue Chen, President and CEO of Saglo Companies — a vertically integrated, privately held retail real estate firm celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. From surviving the S&L crisis and the dot-com bust to navigating COVID, Saglo has never defaulted on a loan. Hue breaks...

What does it actually take for a retail asset to survive the next 20 years? Karly Iacono gets a rare, unfiltered look inside the investment strategy of one of the world's largest net lease REITs — live from the ICSC Las Vegas PropTech floor. Gino Sabatini, Head of Investments at W. P. Carey, breaks down exactly how they decide what's worth owning, what they walked away from, and where they...

Something is shifting in net lease that every investor and owner needs to understand: cap rates are no longer moving in lockstep with the 10-year Treasury. The traditional risk premium framework is breaking down, and in its place, tenant quality, business trajectory, and lease structure are doing the pricing work. In this episode, Karly Iacono breaks down exactly what's happening and why: -Wha...

Karly Iacono and Chris Ressa just came back from ICSC Las Vegas — 25,000 attendees, non-stop energy, and conversations that signal exactly where retail real estate is headed. In this episode, they break down the five themes that dominated: ▶ Retailers are deploying BILLIONS into physical stores ▶ Cap rates and interest rates have decoupled ▶ AI was in every conversation ▶ Healthcare is the new QSR...

The CRE debt market is fluid — and that's actually good news for borrowers. In this episode of Commercial Real Estate Now, host Karly Iacono sits down with Matt Pizzolato, SVP in CBRE's Debt & Structured Finance Group, whose team placed over $3 billion in volume last year across multifamily, industrial, retail, and office. Matt breaks down exactly where the lending environment stands today: wh...

In this episode of Commercial Real Estate Now, Karly Iacono breaks down zero cashflow investments; what they are, how the debt is structured, and why sophisticated investors specifically seek them out. Topics covered: -How self-amortizing, non-recourse, assumable loans make these deals work -The pay down readvance feature and why it matters in a 1031 exchange -Depreciation and interest expense as...

What conversations will dominate the hallways, dinners, and booths at ICSC Las Vegas this year? In this episode, Karly Iacono and Chris Ressa break down the  themes they expect to drive every serious discussion and where the conventional wisdom is wrong. Topics covered: -Buyer demand vs. deal availability: why capital is ready but the product isn't -How underwriting has structurally changed and wh...

In this episode of Commercial Real Estate Now, host Karly Iacono sits down with Ben Crowder, Principal at Bohler, to break down the engineering and site planning realities behind retail development today. Ben shares what retailers and developers consistently miss when evaluating sites — from overlooking existing site conditions to underestimating the entitlement process — and explains why bringing...

The U.S. sale leaseback market hit $14.4 billion in 2025, the highest volume since 2022, with Q4 alone surging 56% over Q3. But the headline numbers only tell part of the story. In this episode of Commercial Real Estate Now, Karly Iacono breaks down the sale leaseback playbook: who’s executing right now, what’s driving deal volume, and where the market is getting it wrong. Topics covered: ∙ Why do...

The 2026 FIFA World Cup isn’t just a global sporting event, it’s a multi-year economic and real estate catalyst. With 48 teams, 100+ matches, and millions of visitors expected, host markets across the U.S. are already seeing the early stages of infrastructure investment, tourism expansion, and retail demand shifts. In this episode of Commercial Real Estate Now, we break down what actually happens...

Most commercial real estate investors focus heavily on physical due diligence — inspections, environmental reports, and site analysis. But many overlook a critical part of the deal: financial and tax strategy. In this episode of Commercial Real Estate Now, host Karly Iacono sits down with Brian Lovett, Partner at Withum, to discuss why CPAs should be involved before a deal closes, not after. They...

In this episode of Commercial Real Estate Now, Karly Iacono sits down with Jeff Mooallem, the COO of Urban Edge Properties, to unpack how one of the most active retail owners is thinking about value creation, risk, and long-term resilience in today’s market. Jeff shares how Urban Edge approaches retail ownership and development, his role in shaping portfolio-wide strategy, and the real-world lesso...

In this episode of Commercial Real Estate Now, professionals from Pinnacle Development, Langan Engineering, and PH&C Construction examine the key constraints influencing development decisions today including material availability and labor dynamics to zoning complexity, power infrastructure, and evolving hard and soft costs. This isn’t a discussion about stalled projects. It’s a look at how th...

In this episode of What's in Store?, Karly Iacono and Chris Ressa break down why grocery emerged as one of the strongest and most resilient asset classes in 2025 and what that means for investors underwriting retail today. We cover: • Why Amazon’s physical grocery closures are a net positive for landlords • The rise of independent and regional grocers reshaping demand • Why 2025 grocery growth...

Enjoy this full replay of Karly Iacono’s keynote presentation from the 2026 Princeton Real Estate Market Forecast event. In this session, Karly breaks down why 2026 is shaping up to be a year of clarity as the real estate market thaws and expectations reset. She highlights the economic backdrop, the state of the capital markets, and the most important trends across office, retail, industrial, and...

Most commercial real estate deals don’t fail on price, they stall on contracts. In this episode of Commercial Real Estate Now, we dig into the contract clauses creating the most friction in today’s CRE transactions, including indemnities, reps and warranties, escrow holdbacks, survey and title risk, and contracts contingent on entitlements. This conversation focuses on where buyer and seller expec...

In this episode of What’s in Store, Karly Iacono and Chris Ressa discuss why the current data and market structure suggest retail may be entering its next leg up in 2026. They walk through how consumer behavior, pricing dynamics, and cost pressures are shaping the outlook and how this cycle compares to prior periods. They also share how they think about risk, resilience, and where retail fundament...

Owning real estate doesn’t automatically make you a great operator, managing it well does. In this episode of Commercial Real Estate Now, Karly Iacono breaks down five habits that separate engaged asset managers from landlords who quietly lose money over time. These are not dramatic mistakes, they’re small oversights that compound and erode NOI, valuation, and exit outcomes. You’ll learn: • Why sl...

Due diligence is where real estate investors protect capital. In this episode of Commercial Real Estate Now, we break down how Phase I Environmental Site Assessments and Property Condition Assessments actually influence underwriting, financing, and long-term asset performance. You will learn: • How to interpret Recognized Environmental Conditions • When Phase I findings escalate to a Phase II insp...

ICSC New York cuts through the noise fast. After days of meetings with investors, retailers, and landlords, the same themes kept resurfacing again and again. This episode breaks down six clear signals from the conference floor based entirely on real conversations and active deal discussions. No predictions. No panel soundbites. Just what is actually driving underwriting, expansion, and capital tod...

In this episode of Commercial Real Estate Now, Karly Iacono sits down with Scott Friedman, Chief Credit Officer at Pulse Ratings, to break down the drivers behind today’s most high-profile Chapter 11 cases. Grounded in real cases including Rite Aid, Joann, Party City, Big Lots, At Home, Claire’s, and major casual dining operators, this conversation explores what’s actually behind the bankruptcy fi...

Luxury retail is undergoing a strategic reset, and investors are paying close attention. In this episode, we break down how top luxury brands are rethinking their real estate—buying key assets, reinventing flagship strategies, and expanding into markets that reflect shifting wealth patterns. This conversation is for investors tracking: • Luxury retail investment trends • Prime high-street and flag...

Most investors understand the basics of a 1031 exchange — but the strategy is in the structure. Join Todd Pajonas the President of Legal 1031 Exchange and Karly Iacono, Senior Vice President at CBRE as they break down: • How bonus depreciation and cost segregation influence return profile and tax efficiency • Reverse 1031 exchanges and when buying before selling creates a real advantage • What hap...

The Federal Reserve has officially shifted gears — cutting rates by 25 bps, ending quantitative tightening, and admitting it’s partially “data blind.” In this episode of Commercial Real Estate Now, Karly Iacono breaks down what the Fed’s October pivot means for investors — and outlines five actionable strategies to navigate this new environment. 1️⃣ Re-engineer your financing before the market doe...