The Fed served up “peas and carrots” this week with a unanimous 12-0 vote to raise rates 25 basis points, plus a telling warning from Chair Warsh that more tightening could follow. The 10-year Treasury briefly crossed 5%, stocks whipsawed through the week, and markets struggled to make sense of another volatile week. Meanwhile, August retail sales surprised to the upside, rising 1.2%, a modest but real sign that consumer demand isn’t cracking yet, even as sentiment weakens elsewhere.
Hosts Manus Clancy and Dianne Crocker dug into what the Fed’s hawkish pivot means for CRE, why the bond market has been “ping-ponging” all week, and why CRE keeps muddling through despite mounting pressure. Fresh LightBox data shows the CRE Activity Index rebounded to 116.5 in August, with property listings jumping 20% and Phase I environmental due diligence activity rising 3%, even as appraisal volume fell 29%, a sign financing conditions are weighing on deals further down the pipeline.
Then the deals tell their own story. Retail is having a moment, with major shopping center transactions topping $120 million and mall values up 13% over the past year. Multifamily posts a string of nine-figure sales across the country, Chicago’s comeback continues, and Class A office leasing gains momentum in New York and San Francisco.
Plus, the hosts celebrate recognition for The CRE Weekly Digest on CREi’s Podcast Influencer Top 10 List, and close with the most important debate of the week: Just how much pumpkin is too much pumpkin?
00:00 The Fed Serves Up “Peas and Carrots”
07:34 CRE Holds Up Against a Chaotic Market
12:42 August CRE Activity Index Rebounds
17:23 Retail Is Having Its Moment
21:24 Multifamily’s Nine-Figure Deal Streak
25:33 Office Leasing Heats Up in New York and San Francisco
27:56 Big Office Sales and a Chicago Conversion Bet
29:30 Slice of Life: Fall, Football and Pumpkin Everything
Have questions for the pod team? Send them to Podcast@LightBoxRE.com
