AFIRE Podcast 2024.01: Mark Zandi on Interest Rates and CRE

Cognitive dissonance abounds in commercial real estate. On the one hand, the Fed is citing strong employment figures and predicting a soft landing.

And yet, the commercial real estate industry is navigating serious issues in the office sector.

Will office distress trigger bank failures? Will those bank failures affect the broader economy? When will interest rates go down? And when they do, will the Fed cut enough to benefit commercial real estate? 

In his conversation with AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson, Moody’s Analytics Chief Economist Mark Zandi sounds off on all these topics and more.

“If I was at the Fed, I would argue: let’s cut rates now,” Zandi says. “Obviously there’s a lot of uncertainty, but I think the most likely scenario is June.”

Plus: Zandi talks AI, China and other geopolitical risks, and how he expects the upcoming US election will affect market volatility.

Listen now on your favorite podcast platform, or watch on the AFIRE YouTube channel.

FEATURING

• Mark Zandi, Chief Economist, Moody’s Analytics

DISCLAIMER

The publisher of the AFIRE Podcast is not engaged in providing tax, accounting, or legal advice through this publication. No content published in the AFIRE Podcast is to be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell any asset. Some information included in the AFIRE Podcast has been obtained from third-party sources considered to be reliable, though the publisher is not responsible for guaranteeing the accuracy of third-party information. The opinions expressed in the AFIRE Podcast are those of its respective contributors and sources and do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher.

The AFIRE Podcast with Gunnar Branson is the official, multiple-award-winning podcast of AFIRE, the association for international real estate investors focused on commercial property in the United States.

Hosted by AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson, the podcast features informative and in-depth conversations with experts across the full spectrum of real estate, investment, sustainability, economics, geopolitics, and urbanism with a focus on helping each other become Better Investors, Better Leaders, and Better Global Citizens. To learn more, visit afire.org/podcast