Nareit's REIT Report Podcast

After spending much of the second quarter in a defensive mode, VICI Properties Inc. (NYSE: VICI) is now actively looking for ways to opportunistically deploy capital, says CEO Ed Pitoniak. Speaking on the Nareit REIT Report, Pitoniak said that once VICI began to receive signals that its assets, particularly those in regional markets, were going to reopen strongly following COVID-19 shutdowns, “we...

Retail sales data for July point to a resumption in consumer spending, providing a boost for the retail REIT sector that has been under pressure throughout the coronavirus crisis, according to Nareit Senior Economist Calvin Schnure. Retail sales rose 1.2% in July. While the increase was slower than that seen in the previous two months, sales rose to a level that was higher than before the crisis....

Boston, San Diego, and San Francisco continue to attract the lion’s share of life science venture capital investment, but strong industry tailwinds are raising the prospects for a number of other markets across the nation, according to Audrey Symes, director of research for healthcare, life sciences, and advisory at JLL. Speaking on the REIT Report, Symes noted that even before the coronavirus cri...

Economic reports released in the past week were mostly positive, but with millions still unemployed and benefits expiring, the need for additional stimulus measures remains, according to Nareit Senior Economist Calvin Schnure. Speaking Aug. 10 on the REIT Report, Schnure said economic data reported last week “helps dispel some of the fears that the recovery stalled last month” due to the continued...

Executives from Duke Realty Corp. (NYSE: DRE), a leader in corporate responsibility matters, joined a special edition of the REIT Report on August 5 to share their observations and advice on initiating and growing a vibrant ESG strategy that is embraced at all levels of the company. In conjunction with Nareit’s multimedia series ESG Exchange, Nareit Executive Vice President and General Counsel Cat...

Declines in second quarter GDP were concentrated in a few front-line sectors, making it more likely that the economy can begin to recover by the second half of this year or the first half of 2021, according to Nareit Senior Economist Calvin Schnure. Second quarter GDP data released last week showed an annualized decline of 32.9%, which was in line with expectations. Schnure noted that the decline...

The total value and volume of real estate deals across all property sectors declined in the first half of the year compared to the previous six months, but activity is expected to recover by the fourth quarter, according to Tim Bodner, partner and U.S. real estate deals leader at PwC. PwC recently released its mid-year review of real estate deal activity that showed almost a 50% decline in deal va...

The innovation trend that emerged in the office sector prior to the coronavirus is only going to accelerate as organizations adapt to changes in how workplaces operate in a post-pandemic environment, according to Julie Whelan, head of occupier research for the Americas at CBRE. Whelan told the REIT Report July 24 that innovation will be accelerated in large part by the success of the remote work m...

The economy continued to rebound in June, according to housing market data released last week, although the outlook depends on the reopening continuing on its current path—an open question at this point, Nareit Senior Economist Calvin Schnure said. Speaking July 27 on the Nareit REIT Report, Schnure highlighted the jump in new and existing June home sales, with new home sales actually higher than...

Economic data released last week show a lot of potential for rebound—as long as the reopening can continue to proceed, according to Nareit Senior Economist Calvin Schnure. Speaking July 20 on the Nareit REIT Report podcast, Schnure highlighted the range of economic indicators for June that were reported, including industrial production, retail sales, and housing starts. Those numbers underscore th...

Family renter households are likely to account for a growing share of the overall renter pool as the millennial generation begins to raise families and create homes of their own, says Christopher Ptomey, executive director of the Urban Land institute’s Terwilliger Center for Housing. Families currently account for about a third of the overall renter pool, Ptomey told Nareit’s REIT Report, but that...

A rollback of state reopening plans across the United States is placing additional strain on REIT tenants, especially those in the retail real estate segment, according to Jim Sullivan, managing director and REIT analyst at BTIG. On July 13, California announced a statewide closure of all indoor operations of dine-in restaurants, movie theaters, and family entertainment centers, among others. Coun...

REIT share prices edged lower last week, as both the broader economy and also the real estate sector continue to be buffeted by the opposing forces of economic reopening and the spread of the virus, according to Nareit Senior Economist Calvin Schnure. Speaking July 13 on the Nareit REIT Report, Schnure said news of more rapid growth of new cases, especially across the Sunbelt, is leading to a reco...

LaSalle Investment Management Securities Global CEO Lisa Kaufman said REITs are attracting investor attention on the basis that they currently offer “very good value” relative to the private market, as well as on a historic basis relative to equities and bonds. Speaking July 6 on the Nareit REIT Report podcast, Kaufman said REITs in the United States and globally have “dramatically repriced,” and...

Nareit Senior Economist Calvin Schnure said the June employment numbers released last week were a “welcome positive surprise” that shows commercial real estate is heading in the right direction. Speaking July 6 on the REIT Report podcast, Schnure said the 4.8 million jobs reported for June exceeded expectations by a wide margin. The unemployment rate, meanwhile, fell more than anticipated, to 11.1...

Nareit Senior Economist Calvin Schnure said the Federal Reserve’s latest bank stress test results point to a banking system that is well positioned to support the real estate economy under various recovery scenarios. Speaking June 29 on the REIT Report podcast, Schnure said the stress tests showed that most banks remain well capitalized under either a V, U, or W-shaped recovery. A V-shape sees the...

Nareit Senior Economist Calvin Schnure said REITs are facing a “mixed picture” as the forces of economic recovery are being tempered by uncertainty regarding the ongoing risks from COVID-19. In the June 22 edition of the REIT Report, Schnure noted that the recent divergence between the course of the pandemic and the pace of economic activity strengthened over the past week. While REITs and the bro...

Gina Szymanski, portfolio manager and director at AEW Capital Management, an affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers, joined the latest edition of the Nareit REIT Report podcast. Szymanski discussed some of the differences between the current COVID-19 crisis and the global financial crisis. She pointed to the size and pace of fiscal and monetary stimulus as “the biggest difference by far.” “Durin...

In the latest edition of the REIT Report, Nareit Senior Economist Calvin Schnure said investors will be watching this week to see if economic indicators point to an uptrend similar to what was seen in the recently-released May unemployment report. May retail sales numbers released this week will show whether or not spending has bottomed, Schnure said. The Federal Reserve, meanwhile, will report in...

In the latest edition of the Nareit REIT Report, Darin Buelow, global location strategy leader at Deloitte, looked at the specific challenges that financial institutions face in returning to the workplace after an extended absence resulting from COVID-19. According to Deloitte, financial institutions account for more than 15% of total office leasing activity. Buelow noted that many financial servi...

Nareit Senior Economist Calvin Schnure discussed some of the main themes from Nareit’s REITweek: Virtual Investor Conference and the May jobs report in the June 8 edition of the Nareit REIT Report podcast. Schnure characterized the overall mood at REITweek as “cautiously optimistic.” “Obviously we’re still in unchartered waters and there’s a lot of concern about unforeseen risks in the period ahea...

The latest edition of the Nareit REIT Report podcast looked at employment trends in the commercial real estate industry with Marc Torrey, vice president and global sales director at SelectLeaders, a career resources platform for real estate professionals. Torrey explained that the landscape for commercial real estate hiring heading into the coronavirus crisis reflected a typical trend seen in an e...

Nareit’s T-Tracker, a comprehensive summary of REIT earnings and operating performance, showed an overall picture of weak earnings in the first quarter, with about half of the 9% decline in funds from operations (FFO) reflecting the lodging and hotels sector. Speaking May 26 on the Nareit REIT Report podcast, Nareit Senior Economist Calvin Schnure noted that regional malls also had a decline in ea...

Commercial real estate firms are beginning to implement lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and create targeted measures to emerge stronger in the medium-term, according to Jim Berry, U.S. real estate leader at Deloitte & Touche LLP. Speaking on the Nareit REIT Report podcast, Berry noted that the industry has moved from an initial ‘respond’ phase into a ‘recover’ phase, with many comme...

The latest retail sales data point to a continued role for brick and mortar retail once the coronavirus crisis passes, according to Nareit Senior Economist Calvin Schnure. Speaking May 18 on the Nareit REIT Report podcast, Schnure noted that the more than 8% rise in non-store retail sales in April, which includes e-commerce, was unable to offset the overall decline of 16.4%. “Online commerce is st...