The Bisnow Weekender: All Is Not Well For Women In CRE
Thanks for reading the Bisnow Weekender, my personally curated roundup of the most impactful news, notable quotes, binge-worthy show recommendations and other colorful highlights from the Bisnow world of commercial real estate and beyond.
Women are in more positions of power in CRE than ever before, but don't celebrate just yet.
Despite a movement to increase the number of women in C-suites, the latest Global Real Estate DEI Survey by ULI once again shows sluggish headway. Women only increased their place at the executive management level by 2.7%.
That means the total representation of women at the highest levels of CRE is at 25.7%.
Of course, any progress, however incremental, is good news. But it papers over a critical concern elsewhere: Women in midlevel positions face significant obstacles that could threaten the entire movement.
A 2022 Commercial Real Estate Women Network study showed almost 30% of women in CRE left their jobs voluntarily that year, and 95% of those women didn't return to the industry.
Another CREW survey released in January revealed that 80% of women in the industry have encountered hindrances to career advancement, with 44% reporting they are hampered by what has become known as the “broken rung,” or early career barriers to getting on a management path.
Is “the glass ceiling” an obstacle? Fifty-two percent say yes.
Despite well-intentioned diversity, equity and inclusion efforts that focus on the top and bottom tiers, those in the middle are overlooked. This oversight has tangible consequences, including higher job departure rates, difficulties securing mentorships, continued wage disparities and a general sense of exclusion from initiatives designed to foster inclusion and advancement.
This all highlights a moral dilemma, but perhaps more importantly, it underscores the frailty of a major strategic imperative for the real estate industry as a whole, especially as it onboards and recruits a new generation into its ranks — a generation that cares about DEI issues in profound ways.
If the needs and challenges of women at all levels aren't addressed now, the real estate industry could quickly slip back into an old trope: that it’s nothing more than an “old boys club.”
In March, Bisnow will launch a series of stories that will explore all aspects of these years-long struggles and the current state of women in commercial real estate. We want to hear from women at all levels, so please take the seven-minute survey here. To ensure candid responses, this survey is strictly anonymous.
— Mark F. Bonner, Bisnow Editor-in-Chief
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The Best Of Bisnow News: Feb. 19-23
The Lerners Aren’t Selling The Nats, But What Are They Doing With Their Real Estate? — D.C. Reporter Emily Wishingrad and Deputy East Coast Editor Jon Banister
Nearly two years after hiring a firm to explore a sale of the MLB's Washington Nationals, Mark Lerner told The Washington Post Monday his family has decided not to sell the team.
Over that span, two other professional sports franchises in the DMV have sold, the NFL's Washington Commanders and the Baltimore Orioles, while the owner of the region's pro basketball and hockey teams launched plans to move from D.C. to Virginia.
Those two years have also seen a dramatic disruption to commercial real estate, the industry in which the Lerners made their billions. But while the family broke its silence on the Nationals, the status of its massive portfolio of D.C.-area real estate remains opaque.
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Smart-Glass Maker View Under Pressure From Cantor Fitzgerald, May Be Forced To Sell Assets — National Reporter Dees Stribling
View Inc., a smart-glass company once valued at $2B, is facing a potential debt restructuring or asset sale, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission this month.
According to the Schedule 13D filing, Cantor Fitzgerald, which helped View go public, has “engaged in communications with [View's] senior lenders and other investors regarding, among other things, restructuring the terms of [its] existing indebtedness, a potential divestiture of certain assets, a potential extraordinary corporate transaction or other possible transactions.”
The filing means Cantor Fitzgerald is having conversations with lenders, a clue that lenders aren't happy and are making noise regarding restructuring the terms of the existing debt or there may be a default, according to Husch Blackwell partner Steven Carman, who specializes in mergers, acquisitions and special-purpose acquisition companies.
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Covid-Era Back Rent Beginning To Flow For Apartment Landlords — Los Angeles Reporter Bianca Barragán
After nearly four years, the country’s largest apartment owners are beginning to see revenue trickle in from units where renters were protected by pandemic-inspired moratoriums from evictions or rising rents.
Turning those small revenue streams back on helped multifamily-focused REITs tread water in an increasingly choppy sea, according to fourth-quarter earnings calls. Looming twin waves of loan maturities and construction deliveries have kept rent growth down in recent months, but the REITs eked out razor-thin margins over analysts’ expectations.
Small gains and a slow pace seem to be the name of the game as 2024 plays out, boosted slightly by companies’ restored ability to replace a nonpaying renter with a paying one or simply raise the rent.
More Big News From The Week …
— Washington Post Commits To Downtown D.C. HQ Through 2037
— Supreme Court Declines To Hear 2 Challenges To Rent Stabilization Laws
— Largest U.S. Hospital Landlord Reports $664M Loss, Plans To Sell Assets
— Interest Rates Hit Cushman's Bottom Line, But Brokerage Beats Expectations
— Hilton, Hyatt Among Roster Of Defendants In Price-Fixing Lawsuit
My Slightly On/Off-Topic Media Diet
Nvidia’s Data Center Business Is Booming (CNBC): “Nvidia’s Data Center business just logged $18.4 billion in fourth-quarter sales, underscoring how the computer chip giant continues to benefit from the current boom in artificial intelligence. As part of Nvidia’s fourth-quarter earnings that were released Wednesday, the company said its data center unit grew 409% from the $3.62 billion it reported during the same period in the previous year.”
Is Working From Home About To Spark A Financial Crisis? (The Economist): “The total value of American property (not including farmland) was $66trn at the end of 2022, according to data from Savills, an estate agency. Most of that is residential. Only a quarter is commercial. And commercial property is much more than just offices. It includes retail spaces, which are struggling, but also warehouses, which are in demand as data-centres and distribution points, and multi-family buildings. Offices are therefore worth perhaps $4trn, or about 6% of the total value of property in America.”
European Banks Are Playing For Time On Commercial Real Estate Pain (FT): “When it comes to office valuations, there is surprisingly little difference between US and European markets, says Peter Papadakos of Green Street. Both have experienced falls of as much as half. But higher US rates exacerbate problems — debt costs have risen from 3 per cent in 2021 to about 8 per cent today. Compare that with increases in Europe from 1.5 per cent to between 5-6 per cent. Better hedging and a more borrower-friendly approach by European lenders have supported the financing environment. The question is for how long? A looming financing gap suggests time is ticking.”
Tech Leaders Fled San Francisco During The Pandemic. Now, They’re Coming Back (WSJ): “‘The reality is that the brainpower is here’ in San Francisco, said Max Gazor, a general partner at the venture firm CRV and board member at Airtable. ‘It’s especially true for AI, given the light speed at which these companies have innovated.’”
YIGBY (‘Yes in God’s Backyard’) Movement Seeks To Counter NIMBY Movement (Urban Land): “A tsunami of emptying houses of worship — up to 100,000 according to one religious source — is washing across America. Developing intelligent reuses and redevelopments for these properties will make the difference between a community flourishing and struggling. Housing advocates view underused faith properties as natural sites to develop projects that help close the great national gap on affordable housing.”
There's a Reason McDonald's Coke Tastes Better Than All Others (Allrecipes): “You're not the only one who thinks the Coke at Mickey D's is the best—it really is special.”
And Now A Word From Bob Knakal (LinkedIn): “One thing I want to make clear: I appreciate all of you.”
Bisnow Weekend Interview Preview
Rising interest rates have turned the flow of capital down to a trickle. Total commercial and multifamily mortgage borrowing fell 46% from 2022 to 2023, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, but Bayport Funding CEO Marcia Kaufman said she determined that the right strategy through it all was to take action rather than waiting and seeing what the market would do.
The multifamily lender spoke with Bisnow Deputy Newsletter Editor Kayla Carmicheal about what her firm looks for as it continues to lend, despite a storm of nonperforming loans and falling property values.
Bisnow: What advice would you give to other lenders who might be struggling with the current market headwinds?
Kaufman: Stay in touch with all their customers, not just the customers who are having a difficult time. Sometimes bad things happen to good people. It doesn’t mean that they won’t work through it. You have to see if you can work through them. If it’s somebody who’s just so far under they’ve given up, then the best thing to do is take that asset back and try to churn on their own. And for new business, don’t be afraid to lend if you’ve done your due diligence properly, if you believe in the sponsor, you believe in their business plan.
The Weekend Interview goes live every Friday evening — head to www.bisnow.com over the weekend to check it out!
Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!
Here are this week’s top jobs over at Bisnow's careers platform, SelectLeaders. Reach out to SelectLeaders Managing Director Ryan Neale to learn more. You can email him at ryan.neale@bisnow.com.
Vice President of Branding and Placemaking — Lead the design process for campus landscape, common areas and project interiors across Alexandria’s San Francisco area assets.
President of Commercial Real Estate — Oversee and manage a geographically diverse commercial real estate portfolio (office, retail, industrial, data centers) for an Alaska Native Corporation.
Vice President of Acquisitions and Development — Lead the evaluation and assessment of real estate acquisitions, divestitures and development for a prominent West Coast affordable housing firm.
Director of Asset Management — Oversee a prominent West Coast affordable housing portfolio.
Hey, Bianca, What Are You Going To Binge This Weekend?
I was making a conscious effort not to binge television this month and instead focus on reading journalist and information security expert Micah Lee's instructional tome Hacks, Leaks, and Revelations: The Art of Analyzing Hacked and Leaked Data — BUT then Netflix dropped a new season of Love Is Blind and temporarily blew up that plan. This weekend my spouse and I will be curled up on the sofa watching as hopeful young people looking for true love try to find it with strangers they don’t get to see. If we blow through the entire season before the weekend is over, we might try to catch The Iron Claw in the local movie theater.
— Bianca Barragán, Bisnow Los Angeles Reporter
Upcoming Bisnow Events And Webinars
Wednesday, Feb. 28 (Lyndhurst, New Jersey): New Jersey Industrial & Logistics
Wednesday, Feb. 28 (Charlotte): Charlotte Industrial & Logistics Summit
Wednesday, Feb. 28 (Austin): Austin Industrial Outlook
Wednesday, Feb. 28 (Chicago): Future of the Chicago Suburbs
Wednesday, Feb. 28 (Digital): Industrial Outdoor Storage State of the Market
Thursday, Feb. 29 (Jacksonville, Florida): Jacksonville State of the Market
Thursday, Feb. 29 (Los Angeles): Los Angeles Multifamily Conference
Thursday, Feb. 29 (Digital): Fighting Renter Fraud in the Digital Age
Thursday, Feb. 29 (Pheonix): Phoenix 2024 Kickoff Schmooze
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How did I do? You can send all love letters and dissents directly to me at mark.bonner@bisnow.com.
