Gunnar Branson | Source | Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (AFIRE)

Affordable housing may be the most important issue facing the commercial real estate industry today. Statistics show a shortage of more than seven million homes in the US alone. More than half a million people are experiencing homelessness, and high interest rates and a growing population are making housing more expensive for more people. So—how do we solve the problem? What options are available to those of us who are investors, developers, builders, owners, and operators? To get some answers on the current housing situation—and future-focused solutions—AFIRE CEO and podcast host Gunnar Branson recently sat down with Paul Bernard, president and CEO of Affordable Homes & Communities, a nonprofit developer with a focus on housing creation in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC. Bernard argues that the housing crisis is partly caused by barriers to new construction, leading to high homelessness rates, high housing costs and insufficient supply. Affordable housing is...

The year 2023 has been the hottest year in recent record—and it will likely be the coldest year for the rest of our lives. In the face of these record-breaking numbers and climate events, 2023 also proved to be a year that real estate investors lead the charge in confronting the constantly evolving challenges of climate change—including insurance rate hikes, migration and population changes, and the irrational implications derived from “the tragedy of the horizon.” In this, the first of a special two-part episode—inspired by the special climate change section featured in the most recent issue of AFIRE’s award-winning Summit Journal, and sponsored by the global ESG consultancy, AccountAbility—AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson and Summit Journal Editor-in-Chief Benjamin van Loon take viewers and listeners through a conversation with the industry’s top thought leaders to explore how investors can prepare for the impending intersection of climate change, global investment, and the future...

Gunnar Branson is betting 2024 will be considered a good vintage for commercial real estate. Summing up the dominant threads being discussed by the AFIRE membership, Branson uses this video to explain why he thinks we’re in the last stretch of the difficult times. He also makes predictions about the year ahead, provides commentary, and issues warning signs. The real estate cycle is not currently in a forgiving place, he admits. Yes, interest rates have peaked, but there remains distress in the office sector. Nonetheless, Branson believes the industry is coming to an inflection point. The investment decisions made this year are “likely to be the ones that we do not regret in the years to come,” Branson says. “This is the time where real leaders in real estate show their true colors.” “Finding creative solutions during difficult times is how we show resilience,” Branson says. It’s in times like...