The CRE Weekly Digest by LightBox
Stay informed with weekly episodes by LightBox offering insights into the latest developments in commercial real estate (CRE) and interviews with the industry's market leaders. Join Martha Coacher, Manus Clancy, and Dianne Crocker as they provide CRE data and news in context. Subscribe so you don't miss an episode.
Episodes
57 episodes
Mixed Bag — Fed Holds Rates, Corporate Earnings Falter, but CRE Outlook Sentiment Rises
While the Fed held rates steady as expected, the bigger story may be what's underneath:Corporate earnings show tariffs are starting to bite. Economic data prints are increasingly mixed. And the labor market is still holding out. But for...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 57
•
40:30
Forecasting Through Fog — Rebecca Rockey on Stagflation, Tariffs & the CRE Outlook
Rebecca Rockey, Deputy Chief Economist and Global Head of Forecasting at Cushman & Wakefield, joins the LightBox team for a focused conversation on the macroeconomic forces shaping commercial real estate in the back half of 2025. With stagf...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 56
•
37:50
Markets Dodge DC Drama – Inflation Muted, Bank Earnings Strong, and Industrial Bets Rise
This week’s slate of economic data left pundits divided even as investors cheered on rising markets. Retail sales surprised to the upside, inflation was muted, and bank earnings beat forecasts. However, deeper trends raise caution: tariff recei...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 55
•
35:01
A Tale of Two Markets --CRE Distress vs. CMBS Resurgence with Morningstar’s David Putro
David Putro, Head of Analytics for Morningstar Credit, doesn’t sugarcoat it. In this candid conversation with the LightBox team, he offers an unflinching look at where distress is building in commercial real estate and why resolution is moving ...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 54
•
34:20
.png)
Midyear 2025 CRE Pulse Check and Outlook – Navigating the Second Half
It’s halftime in 2025, and The CRE Weekly Digest team is back with a data-driven gut check on a market that’s proving more resilient than expected. Despite tariff shocks, geopolitical tension, and consumer gloom, CRE hasn’t blinked. In fact, ca...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 53
•
40:06
Markets Surge, AI Booms, and CRE Activity Shows Resilience Even with Geopolitical Volatility and Fed-Policy Uncertainty
It’s a milestone week at The CRE Weekly Digest—our one-year anniversary and 52nd episode. From launch day to today, we’ve unpacked the headlines, challenged assumptions, and surfaced the trends that matter most for CRE professionals na...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 52
•
39:31
.png)
Shifting Sails–Navigating CRE Risk in the Era of Uncertainty–Holly Neber on Climate Risk, Insurance Shocks & Resilience
What does it take to make a property—and a team—resilient in today’s volatile CRE landscape? Holly Neber, Chief Resilience Officer at AEI Consultants, joins the LightBox team to unpack the rising urgency around climate risk, insurance hurdles, ...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 51
•
31:53
Inflation Eases, Tariff Tensions Cool, CRE Activity Dips & FEMA Fades — Good News, Bad News for CRE
Inflation cools, tariff tensions ease, and investors start breathing a little easier, but is CRE catching a tailwind? The team digs into surprisingly positive CPI and PPI reports, unpacking why the market's fears may have overshot reality for n...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 50
•
35:09
.png)
In the CMBS Trenches with Shlomo Chopp— Distress, Risk, and Finding Diamonds in the Rough
CMBS workouts aren’t for the faint of heart—and CMBS expert Shlomo Chopp knows it better than most. With 20+ years of experience untangling distressed assets, Shlomo offers a rare, unsparing look into what borrowers, bondholders, and even AAA i...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 49
•
38:57
Despite Tariff Turmoil Fatigue and Retail Recalibration, CRE Investment Holds Steady
Markets may have cheered a court ruling limiting presidential tariff power—but don’t mistake it for clarity. The LightBox team—Martha Coacher, Manus Clancy, and Dianne Crocker—unpacks what’s really moving CRE: supply chain strains, shaky retail...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 48
•
40:24
Navigating CRE Lending Amid Economic Uncertainty with Eastern Bank's Matthew Osborne
How are regional banks navigating today’s choppy economic and federal policy waters? The LightBox team gets an inside look when they talk to Matthew Osborne, EVP and Chief Credit Officer at Eastern Bank – a regional bank in the Boston MSA. ...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 47
•
41:19
Bob Knakal & Rod Santomassimo—Mastering CRE Sales and What It Really Takes to Sell 2,350 Buildings
What separates good brokers from great ones? In this special episode, Martha, Manus, and Dianne chat with two titans of CRE sales—Bob Knakal and Rod Santomassimo— who get real about what it takes to succeed, scale, and stay relevant across deca...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 46
•
37:50
Market Rebound—Too Much Too Fast? Trade Hopes Rise, CRE Activity Up, Fed Holds Back
Does the first U.S. trade deal signal an off-ramp to global trade tensions? Stocks surged on news of the UK agreement, but other indicators suggest the market’s ebullience may be front-running reality. And the Fed knows it. Martha Coacher...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 45
•
39:47
CRE Distress Decoded with Tammy & David Goldfisher—The Real Story Behind Loan Workouts, Distressed Assets & Capital Market Risk
Distress is building in the CRE market—and borrowers are running out of room as opportunistic investors prepare to jump in. The power duo Tammy and David Goldfisher of The Henley Group join the LightBox team to break down what’s really ha...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 44
•
33:21
A Turnabout on Trade and Fed Talk? Plus the Housing Slump & First CRE Draft—A Market on Edge
Markets may be uncertain, but the LightBox team is keeping it grounded—with some perspective and invoking the classic Gimme Shelter. As investors brace for tariff fallout, Manus, Dianne, and Martha break down the latest headline fatigu...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 43
•
38:19
The Fed, Rate Cuts, and the CRE Reset with former Fed Insider Tyler Wiggers
The timing for this conversation couldn’t have been better. Former Federal Reserve insider Tyler Wiggers gives us a break down on what the Fed is thinking right now about monetary policy especially in the wake of the tariff turmoil ...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 42
•
41:28
.png)
CRE Capital Markets with Rick Jones—How Distress, Demand and Debt are Reshaping the Real Estate Cycle
Rick Jones, Founder and Principal of Jackstay Ventures LLC, joins the LightBox crew to unpack the latest capital markets chaos stirred up by post-tariff volatility and macro uncertainty. The conversation spans the latest pulse on recessio...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 41
•
34:34
CRE Post Tariffs—Safe Harbor or Risk of Downdraft?
The team breaks down what Manus calls “tariffs on steroids” and why the impact is more opaque than anything we’ve seen before. With investors reacting to tariffs with a stock sell-off and a flight to the safety of Treasurys, the discussion focu...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 40
•
34:00
State of the CRE Debt Market—Insights from CREFC’s Lisa Pendergast
This week the LightBox podcast team talks with Lisa Pendergast, President and CEO of Commercial Real Estate Finance Council (CREFC) about the CRE debt market. Together, they discuss the current landscape of the commercial real estate finance ma...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 39
•
30:26
The Fed Soothes Market Madness Plus Retail Sales, Housing, Big CRE Deals, and Leaps of Faith
A round of mixed economic data took a back seat to the investor focus on the Federal Reserve meeting. With the expected no change on interest rates, the focus was on Chairman Powell’s outlook, inflation forecasts – (yes, he said transitory agai...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 38
•
38:48
.png)
CRE Deal Activity Surges—Will Recession Fears Drag Investors Down?
Markets whipsawed this week against a barrage of policy and economic headlines. Inflation cooled more than expected, which was welcome news, but investors grappled with trade war escalations sparking recession fears and a sharp selloff in equit...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 37
•
33:00
Can CRE Investors Dodge Tariff and GSA Office Turbulence?
Martha, Manus, and Dianne tackle another week of economic uncertainty, breaking down the latest data—and tariff turbulence—and what it signals for CRE. Stagflation fears are creeping in as the economy weathers a turbulent cycle—much like a whit...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 36
•
34:59
Five Things the Market Did Last Week—Bonds, Housing, AI, Office, and Retail
Martha, Manus, and Dianne break down the latest twists that impacted the commercial real estate market this week, from bond yields and the flipping yield curve to the drop in consumer confidence to the lowest pending home sales reading in over ...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 35
•
38:25
.png)
Mixed Signals: Walmart's Downbeat Outlook & DOGE Federal Lease Cuts Against Positive Office Momentum
Martha, Manus, and Dianne break down a short, yet jam-packed week in the markets, from the Fed’s “status quo” minutes and weak housing data to Walmart’s downbeat retail outlook and a major shake-up in government office leases. They dissect the ...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 34
•
35:52
Inflation Concerns, CRE Lending, and Why You Shouldn’t Put All Your Eggs in One Basket
Martha, Manus, and Dianne dig into the latest economic data, including inflation reports that sent mixed signals to the markets. Consumer inflation came in hotter than expected, rattling the bond markets, while Fed Chair Powell maintained a ste...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 33
•
31:46
