Pension Real Estate Association (PREA) Spring Conference Reflection

Commercial Real Estate is one arena where you can watch human behavior play out in the aggregate, and for me, that is what makes it so compelling. Thank you to all of the incredible speakers for your insights and to everyone at PENSION REAL ESTATE ASSOCIATION (PREA) who worked so hard on the conference. Grateful for the opportunity to think in new ways, connect with phenomenal people, and continue refining what it means to drive social impact within real estate.

⚠️ On the impact of current economic policy decisions on CRE⚠️

Real estate makes up 13% of US GDP. Real estate investing - i.e., the engine by which real estate is created, improved or repurposed - relies on reasonable projections of customer demand, and identification and mitigation of potential risks.

High interest rates or widespread default are challenging, but there are market solutions and opportunities in both scenarios. It is the uncertainty of today's economic and political climate and decreased consumer spending power that present the possibility of stagnation and gridlock in the real estate industry.

If 13% of GDP is gridlocked, not to mention how the rest of the U.S. economy is affected by those same factors, it’s a problem. And, the American economic system is strong enough to withstand shocks such as these.

🔀 On demographic and socioeconomic shifts underway🔀

The uber wealthy are also worried about the staggering and rising income and wealth inequality present in our system.

This is the last year that the average high school graduating class will be majority white and in 8 years the majority of the U.S. workforce will be non-white. This timetable will not be adjusted by current attempts to reduce legal or illegal immigration.

There are plenty of data which demonstrate the financial benefit of balanced teams. Ready access to this data has been missing.

⏩ On how we move ahead, in our orgs and as a country ⏩

The most effective way to build a coalition is to focus on common ground and shared identity, and to use the language your audience can see themselves in. 

Leaders and peers who push you and demonstrate they believe in you are more likely to elicit drive, cooperation, and success, than those who are focused on their own personal gain.

People are people are people. We all have immense power for resilience to mistrust to everything in between. Our environment dictates so much.

😵‍💫 On making sense of the constant news cycle 😵‍💫

Though the chaos and “flood the zone” strategy is effective, there is a consistent worldview guiding the current administration.