Katten Real Estate Partners Barrett Mallos, Karen Nelson, Frank Arado and Hayden Harrell connect before the 17th Annual Outlook on the Commercial Real Estate Market in Charlotte. (Photo Credit: Grant Baldwin)
Katten, in partnership with Cushman & Wakefield, featured industry leaders at the Annual Outlook on the Commercial Real Estate Market on January 25 at Bank of America Stadium in Uptown Charlotte.
“Katten is proud to join with Cushman & Wakefield to host a formidable group of thought leaders who offered the community an opportunity to network, share insightful information and celebrate our industry,” said Karen Nelson, event host and managing partner of Katten’s Charlotte office. “Working together, we will continue to explore how to thrive in this new normal so that we can keep the fundamentals of the commercial real estate market strong in Charlotte and across the country.”
Karen Nelson, managing partner of Katten’s Charlotte office, kicks off the 17th Annual Outlook on the Commercial Real Estate Market. (Photo Credit: Grant Baldwin)
David Smith, global head of Occupier Insights at Cushman & Wakefield, served as the keynote speaker for the event and offered an economic and commercial real estate outlook for 2024. “There continues to be uncertainty in the commercial real estate market, but interest rate stability and increased capital market activity should bring more clarity as 2024 progresses. The Southeast and Charlotte are well-situated for the long term due to strong population and job growth trajectories. This bodes well for traditional real estate sectors — office, industrial and multifamily — as well as more niche asset types such as life sciences and healthcare,” said Smith.
Cushman & Wakefield Managing Principal Brett Gray (left) moderated six industry specialists who discussed real estate trends and issues facing the region. (Photo Credit: Grant Baldwin)
Smith also joined a panel discussion with several of the region’s real estate influencers: Nathan Brinker, director of Industrial Leasing, NorthPoint Development; Tracy Dodson, assistant city manager & economic development director, City of Charlotte; Travis Garland, managing director, Portman Holdings; Todd Williams, chief investment officer, Grubb; and Steve Windell, senior vice president, southeast market manager, Commercial Real Estate Group, U.S. Bank. The panel took an in-depth look at how interest rates, global uncertainty, job growth and even artificial intelligence will impact the market in the coming year.
“We’re in a good position with overall leasing fundamentals across multifamily, retail, industrial and alternative properties looking more promising. Office product, on the other hand, experienced a disruption over the past three years, but we expect the worst is behind us with more lender-driven sales becoming visible in 2024 across Charlotte and the Carolinas. The US economy also continues to improve versus the past several months, and the Fed’s strategy is working, with inflation slowing down and jobless claims remaining low. While we can’t rule out a recession yet, near-record dry powder on the sidelines is ready to be deployed and several anticipated rate cuts coming this year should drive more capital markets activity in the second half of 2024, setting up 2025 and 2026 to feel more normalized,” said Brett W. Gray, managing principal of the Charlotte, Triad and South Carolina offices at Cushman & Wakefield, who moderated the panel.
Keynote speaker David Smith, global head of occupier insights at Cushman & Wakefield, offered an economic and commercial real estate outlook for 2024 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. (Photo Credit: Grant Baldwin)
Cushman & Wakefield is a leading global commercial real estate services firm for property owners and occupiers with approximately 52,000 employees in approximately 400 offices and 60 countries. In 2022, the firm reported revenue of $10.1 billion across its core services of property, facilities and project management, leasing, capital markets, and valuation and other services. It also receives numerous industry and business accolades for its award-winning culture and commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and more. For additional information, visit www.cushmanwakefield.com.
Katten is a full-service law firm with approximately 700 attorneys in locations across the United States and in London and Shanghai. Clients seeking sophisticated, high-value legal services turn to Katten for counsel locally, nationally and internationally. The firm’s core areas of practice include corporate, financial markets and funds, insolvency and restructuring, intellectual property, litigation, real estate, structured finance and securitization, transactional tax planning, private credit and private wealth. Katten represents public and private companies in numerous industries, as well as a number of government and nonprofit organizations and individuals.
For more information, visit katten.com.
