Podcast
Bisnow Reports
Hosted by Bisnow · EN
Current Season: First Draft Live
Between economic whiplash, shifting policies and market volatility that changes by the hour, you need industry insights that cut through the noise. That's exactly why we're launching First Draft Live, a new weekly series that breaks down what's happening, why it matters and what you need to know to do better business.
Join us live on Bisnow.com every Friday at 12:30 PM ET / 9:30AM PT for conversations with the industry's sharpest minds discussing the week's most critical stories, or catch the replay right afterwards — here on your podcast app of choice.
29episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
First Draft Live: CBRE Global Client Strategist & Senior Economic Advisor Spencer Levy — What CRE Got Right (And Wrong) About 2026
2w ago00:33:50Tap to summarizeCBRE Global Client Strategist and Senior Economic Advisor Spencer Levy returns to First Draft Live to say how 2026 has — and hasn’t — played out to his expectations.
Transcribe →First Draft Live: NMHC President, Sharon Wilson Géno — Inside the Housing Bill that Almost Wasn't
3w ago00:26:44Tap to summarizeThe 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act just became the most significant federal housing legislation in decades — and it became law without President Donald Trump's signature. This week on First Draft Live, Bisnow Editor-in-Chief Mark F. Bonner sits down with Sharon Wilson Géno, President of the National Multifamily Housing Council, who was literally on her way to the signing ceremony when Trump pulled out at the last minute. They dig into what almost got stripped from the bill, whether the law's headline provision has any real teeth and what NMHC is fighting for on Capitol Hill this week as implementation questions pile up at the U.S. Treasury Department.
Transcribe →First Draft Live: Commercial Real Estate Finance Council President and CEO, Lisa Pendergast — The Last Read
4w ago00:36:00Tap to summarizeWith only a few weeks to go until her retirement, CREFC CEO Lisa Pendergast sat down with Bisnow for a wide-ranging interview that spanned fresh data on lender sentiment, where opportunity is today and how CRE has evolved during her decades in the business.
Transcribe →First Draft Live: Affinius Capital Partner, Ryan Krauch — The Bid-Ask Standoff Is Breaking. Affinius Capital Just Proved It
Jun 2500:26:32Tap to summarizeAffinius Capital closed a $3.4B take-private of Veris Residential last month, one of the largest multifamily transactions in years.The deal represents a change in thesis for Affinius and perhaps for the industry, Affinius partner Ryan Krauch said on this week’s episode of First Draft Live.In the cycle of zero interest rates and constant rate compression, multifamily investment had moved away from “what it is supposed to be,” he said.“[Housing] is not meant to be tactical, opportunistic, high-yielding plays,” Krauch said. “Multifamily, from its origins, has really been more about income producing, downside protection, diversified income, inflation hedge, all the traditional things. So for us, when we looked at Veris, this was a great opportunity to really reset that framework.”
Transcribe →First Draft Live: Director of Real Estate Economics for MSCI, Jim Costello — Did CRE Call The Recovery Too Early?
May 2500:39:51Tap to summarizeThe 10-year Treasury rising past 4.5% has taken the wind out of real estate’s recovery sails. Momentum gained in Q1 is already reversing as the war in Iran pushes on inflation. MSCI Chief Economist of Real Estate Research Jim Costello said the volatile bond market is “a new wrench thrown into the works.” And while he believes the CRE recovery is still underway, it’s tenuous.“[Investors] need to do more scenario planning these days, because that’s how you can deal with the growing uncertainty in the market,” he said.
Transcribe →First Draft Live: President of Capital Markets for North America, Newmark Chad Lavender — Inside The Capital Stack: What’s Actually Moving Now
May 100:27:48Tap to summarizeGlobal volatility hasn't pushed commercial real estate investing into a crisis — it's having the opposite effect, Chad Lavender, Newmark's president of capital markets in North America, said on this week's show.Optimism around economic growth is keeping borrowers optimistic that income streams will grow, even if interest rates don't sink. There is no wave of distress on the horizon because debt markets are “almost insatiable,” Lavender said.Despite private credit continuing to grow, bank lending opening up at pre-Covid levels and investors increasingly drawn to hard asset in uncertain times, that doesn't mean windfalls are around the corner or sales activity is about explode.“We know where stuff's going to price, that doesn't mean a seller wants to sell it there,” Lavender said.
Transcribe →First Draft Live: Tract President and Tract Capital Managing Director Graham Williams — Data Center Nation: The Backlash Begins
Apr 1700:29:08Tap to summarizeOnly 0.5% of U.S. land works for large-scale data center development.On this episode of First Draft Live, Tract President and Tract Capital managing director Graham Williams, whose firm is behind some of the biggest data center developments in the country, breaks down why power, water, a shrinking skilled workforce and rising regulation and public backlash are making viable sites surprisingly difficult to find.
Transcribe →First Draft Live: TruAmerica Multifamily President & CEO Bob Hart — Is This Multifamily's Moment Of Truth?
Apr 1000:28:53Tap to summarizeMultifamily is under pressure from every direction, and yet it is still expected to fix America's housing crisis.A record wave of new supply has hit the market, pushing vacancy higher and rent growth flat or negative in several Sun Belt metros. At the same time, Washington is turning up the heat, with voices like Sen. Elizabeth Warren targeting institutional ownership and the Federal Trade Commission applying new scrutiny to rental fees.But with the bulk of the supply tsunami behind us, could 2026 be the turnaround year? Or will it be just another step in a longer reset? On this episode of First Draft Live, Bisnow sits down with Bob Hart, president and CEO of TruAmerica Multifamily, to break down where the market actually stands, where capital is flowing and how investors are making the math work in a sector caught between rising pressure and uncertain recovery.
Transcribe →First Draft Live: Peachtree Managing Principal & CEO Greg Friedman — Iran Conflict's Capital Markets Impact
Mar 1800:30:54Tap to summarizeThis was supposed to be commercial real estate’s year. The industry entered 2026 expecting interest rates to fall, liquidity to rise, and for long-stalled transactions to finally put the pedal to the metal. For a while, it seemed as though CRE would finally be experiencing a true recovery from the massive hit it took during the pandemic.But today, things are looking a little shakier. Global instability surrounding the escalating conflict between the U.S. and Iran has escalated tariff and trade tensions. Meanwhile, $1.2T in real estate loans are expected to mature by 2027, a significant amount of which were originated when borrowing costs were much lower.On this episode, Greg Friedman, CEO of Peachtree Group, one of the most active private credit platforms in CRE, breaks down the impacts as it stands today.
Transcribe →First Draft Live: CEO of Matthews Kyle Matthews — Brokerages vs. AI
Mar 600:30:12Tap to summarizeThis episode of First Draft Live is presented by Agora.The meteoric rise of artificial intelligence has impacted every industry, including the notoriously tech-adverse commercial real estate world.Scores of new AI-driven tools have left brokers sweating over their commissions and wondering if they will be replaced by software that can automate underwriting and surface buyers instantly. And shareholders have been ditching their brokerage stock over concerns the entire business model is at risk. Are their fears overblown, or should brokers be preparing themselves for a future where AI could take their jobs?Both can be true, Kyle Matthews, CEO of Matthews CRE, said on this week’s episode.“I absolutely think there is an overreaction happening,” Matthews said. “And I think there are 100% vulnerabilities, and the nature and the shape of how these services are performed in the next three, five and 10 years, fundamentally, will change.”
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