Sound Bites From NAIOP’s National Research Directors Meeting and CRE.Converge

Sound Bites From NAIOP’s National Research Directors Meeting, Sept. 14, 2017, in Herndon, Virginia:

“There’s still some room in the marketplace for offices to densify, but at what cost? Densification for [the sake of] densification doesn’t make sense. There has to be a workplace strategy that enables [increased] productivity.” Ray Wong, vice president, Data Solutions, Altus Group Limited

“Efficiently collecting, integrating, sharing and visualizing data is an iterative process that evolves over decades. It is a necessity that will now be a constant part of a real estate firm’s DNA going forward.” Aaron L. Ahlburn, director of industrial research, JLL

“REITs are actually net investors now. They’re not just net buyers of existing property. They are buying and building more than they’re selling as many REITs want to increase the quality of their portfolios.” Jim Costello, senior vice president Real Capital Analytics

Sound Bites From NAIOP’s CRE.Converge 2017, Oct. 10-12, in Chicago:

“Suburban office that’s just office is the dinosaur.” John Petrovski, senior vice president and managing director, U.S. commercial real estate, BMO Harris Bank

“You can have great suburban locations as long as you have a great mix.” Rod Lawrence, senior advisor, JBG Smith

“We’ve heard for years that millennials don’t buy homes or cars, but millennials are going to be our biggest home-buying group. We’re going to start seeing a wave of millennials moving out to the
suburbs.” Daniel Deuter, senior vice president, CBRE

“I would tell young people [entering the real estate business] several things. … Come in early, stay late, respond to email and calls in a timely way and double check your work. … Also, be willing to speak up. Respect is always important, but sometimes deference can be over-rated. Challenge the status quo. … If you are willing to look at the world differently, you can have a very fulfilling career.” Jonathan Gray, global head of real estate, Blackstone

"As we’re future-proofing our business and portfolio, we’re looking at distant technologies that will keep us progressive and ahead of the curve. There’s a huge resilience benefit to this, in terms of both economic cycles and extreme weather events.” Jeannie Renne-Malone, vice president, sustainability, Prologis

“Leadership is having an idea and bringing people along to make it happen.” Julie Benezet, founder and managing principal, Business Growth Consulting LLC

“Intellectual capital is the currency of the future.” Michio Kaku, futurist