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2025: A Double-Edged Sword for Investors and Real Estate
Don’t worry. The world is not really one fire. This is a world shifting its weight. In 2025, investors find themselves in a geopolitical environment that feels unfamiliar. Headlines filled with trade wars, rising authoritarianism, and saber-rattling over tech and resources. But unlike previous eras, the global economic system is too interwoven, and too fragile,…
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Age of Empires – Real Life Edition
I believe we’re in a new age of capital dominance, not just because of how much money is being deployed, but how it’s being positioned. This isn’t about riding the next trend. It’s about locking down the stack so tightly that every new trend has to run through you. The world’s most powerful companies are…
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Navigating Challenges with Boldness and Information
In 2025, the landscape of real estate development is marked by a complex interplay of challenges and opportunities. Developers are contending with rising construction costs, geopolitical uncertainties, and shifting market dynamics. Yet, amidst these hurdles, there lies potential for those who approach the market with informed boldness. Challenges Facing Developers Today 1. Escalating Construction Costs…
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Redefining Underwriting, Cash Flow Volatility, Assumptions Risk
Let’s be real, our models probably aren’t broken. It probably feels that way with so many deals we have to trash. The debt service calc still adds up correctly. IRR formulas haven’t changed. What broke? The assumptions. The 2010s weren’t just a bull run it was like the reincarnation of the Roaring Twenties. Easy money,…
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What Real Estate Investors Can Learn from Insurance Companies
There’s a quiet strategy unfolding in real estate—and it’s not new, just forgotten. It’s not driven by tech funds or flashy family office syndicates. It’s insurance capital. While private equity firms chase IRR and build spreadsheets to justify shorter term flips, insurers are taking an approach we haven’t seen in a long time: buying fundamentally…
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The Last Cycle Where “Dumb” Money Ruled: How Technology Is Reshaping Dealmaking
I still remember the smoke-filled rooms. Hell, I’m probably still in them more often than I’d like to admit. The heavy sliding doors, the quiet favors, the look in a guy’s eye that told you more than a spreadsheet ever could. Dealmaking used to be a craft—a game of handshakes, cigars, and a toast to…
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Interest Rate Normalization and the New Baseline for Cap Rates
Post Financial Crisis, zero interest rates reshaped real estate pricing, cap rates, and investor expectations in ways we’re still unpacking. But that era is over. Zero interest rates weren’t just rare—they were historically abnormal. But in the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis, central banks across the U.S., U.K., Germany, Japan, and beyond slashed rates…
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Nobody’s Building Offices Anymore—And That Might Just Save the Industry
The commercial real estate landscape is undergoing a significant transformation. While the era of constructing expansive, single-purpose office towers is waning, this shift presents a unique opportunity for landlords and investors to reimagine and revitalize existing properties. Below are a few ideas—from operators, strategists, and investors—on how to adapt, preserve value, and position for what’s…
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Why Owning the Pipe Is Always Better Than Owning the Product
Build the toll road. Let others pay to drive on it. In a world currently obsessed with launching products, building apps, or selling shiny new things, the real money has always been in owning the pipe—the system that every other product relies on. Apple doesn’t just sell iPhones; it takes a cut of everything that…
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The Death of the Middleman: Why Vertical Integration Is the New Alpha
We’re entering an era where middlemen are a liability—a tax on margin, speed, and control. In every sector, the most dominant players aren’t just optimizing—they’re owning the entire stack. From sourcing to delivery, from data to distribution, from capital to content—vertical integration is the new alpha strategy. Whether it’s Tesla ripping out the auto dealer…
