Connect CRE
Jun 23, 2025
Setting the stage for a discussion of a year in which the macroeconomic environment for commercial real estate zigged when everyone thought it might zag.
Setting the stage for a discussion of a year in which the macroeconomic environment for commercial real estate zigged when everyone thought it might zag, Allen Matkins partner Alain R’bibo summed up, “I think we all started the year with some different expectations: maybe lower interest rates, maybe some kind of economic normalization. But we’re now six months into the year and things have not gone exactly as expected.”
The industry leaders brought together for the annual “View from the Top” discussion at Connect Los Angeles 2025 concurred with moderator R’bibo that the current year hasn’t brought the relief from uncertainty that was hoped for. Jamison CEO Jaime Lee noted that the popular catchphrase “survive until ‘25” would need to be updated to reflect a more stable environment a year or two into the future.
“Capital has been sidelined for so long that maybe this consistent psychological pressure, anxiety and stress is just the new normal,” she said. “So now people do seem to actually be coming out and saying, ‘well, I guess we should make a deal at some point.’ And so we’re starting to see some nominal activity.”
Evan Kinne, managing director at George Smith Partners and CEO of AXCS Capital, took up the theme. “It’s definitely not risk-on for most of the market,” he said. “I think people have been afraid to go out there and really reprice their assets.”