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I organize semesterly events bringing together real estate experts from the industry, public, academic, and non-profit sectors as part of the Yale ICF Real Estate Colloquium series.

Spring 2024 ICF -- CBEY Real Estate Colloquium
Opportunities for Green Property Retrofitting in a Post-COVID World
          Presentation slides          Yale Insights         Link to YouTube recording

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Real estate generates 40% of global carbon emissions, with 29% arising from the energy usage of existing buildings. The pandemic resulted in a surge in investments in home improvements, including solar panels, energy-efficient technologies, and disaster-proofing measures such as wildfire and seismic strengthening. This trend is likely to continue, as more homeowners are staying in their homes for longer to avoid taking out mortgages at higher rates -- a phenomenon known as the “lock-in” effect. To help ease credit access for retrofitting, new state-level programs such as Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) offer loans for environmentally conscious property improvements with fewer restrictions than traditional credit lines. 

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At the same time, the work-from-home revolution has lowered commercial office and retail property values by over 40% in some major metro areas, creating a strong set of financial incentives for owners and local governments to redevelop space and reduce building vacancies. In October 2023, the White House unlocked new resources towards a mission to encourage zero emissions conversions and increase the housing supply, hoping to render housing more affordable while tackling the climate crisis.

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Can we escape the real estate lock-in effects resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic by improving the energy efficiency of the building stock? Join us for this lunch panel conversation, where, to answer this question, our panelists will explore the latest financial innovations, sustainable technologies, and policy initiatives shaping the future of eco-conscious property redevelopment.

Fall 2023 ICF Real Estate Colloquium

Challenges & Progress towards Providing Affordable Housing in the U.S.
 
​     Presentation slides     Yale Insights     Link to YouTube recording

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Despite the longstanding concept of the American Dream of a path to homeownership, the reality for countless individuals and families across the United States is an escalating struggle to find homes that are not only safe but also within their financial reach. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the country had a shortage of housing units for sale or rent of 3.8 million, with the unavailability of affordable housing particularly pronounced for low-income and non-white renters. The ultimate consequence of this shortfall is that almost 600,000 Americans were chronically homeless in 2022.

The situation has become so dire that the White House announced its five-year Housing Supply Action Plan in May 2022 to unlock federal financing for affordable multifamily development and preservation, and encourage local governments to reform their zoning and land use policies to promote new residential construction.

In this lunch panel discussion, we will bring together three experts who have spent their careers working on affordable housing provision from the perspectives of housing development, local policy, community advocacy, and real estate finance and loan underwriting. Our goal through this event is to dissect the origins of the current housing affordability crisis and outline a sustainable roadmap for local and national policymakers to tackle its root causes.
 

Spring 2023 ICF Real Estate Colloquium


Democratizing Commercial Real Estate Investing through PropTech

 
     Link to YouTube recording

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Commercial real estate (CRE) is the largest alternative asset class in the U.S., valued at $32.8 trillion, and $4.7 trillion in investable stock as of 2020Q3. At the same time, CRE is difficult to diversity across geography and verticals (multi-family, commercial office, retail, industrials, healthcare) without relying on traditional investment vehicles like real estate investment trusts. What role can fintech play in democratizing access to commercial real estate and improving the liquidity of this important asset class? How has ongoing repositioning of the real estate sector after the COVID-19 crisis changed the needs of prospective investors and deal sponsors?

In this lunch conversation, Darren Powderly, Co-Founder of CrowdStreet, will share his views on these questions and the role of new technology platforms like CrowdStreet in unlocking capital from accredited investors -- including large institutions and beyond. The conversation and Q&A with Darren will be moderated by Francis Lively (’15 MBA), CEO & President of The LCP Group, which specializes in both private and public debt and equity transactions with $1 billion in current assets under management.

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