Commercial Real Estate Now | Episode with Hue Chen, President & CEO of Saglo Companies

Karly Iacono sits down with Hue Chen, President and CEO of Saglo Companies — a vertically integrated, privately held retail real estate firm celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. From surviving the S&L crisis and the dot-com bust to navigating COVID, Saglo has never defaulted on a loan. Hue breaks down exactly how they've done it.

In this episode, we cover:

Saglo's 50-year history and what it takes to survive every down cycle in commercial real estate

Hue's day-to-day as President & CEO — and why technology strategy must be led from the top

How to identify the right acquisition target: the full checklist Hue's team uses to underwrite neighborhood and community shopping centers

CapEx decisions: when renovation makes sense, when it doesn't, and how lender financing changes the math

Saglo's capital stack: 65% LTV, banks over CMBS, and a friends-and-family equity model

The fund structure vs. deal-by-deal investing — and what made them switch

📍 Saglo Companies operates across Florida, Georgia, and Maryland with over 2.5M square feet of retail.

Commercial Real Estate Now is hosted by Karly Iacono. Subscribe for weekly conversations with top investors, operators, and experts across the commercial real estate industry.

🔗 Connect with Karly: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karlyiacono

#CommercialRealEstate #RetailRealEstate #ShoppingCenters #CRE #RealEstateInvesting #ValueAdd #PrivateEquity #SagloCompanies

Warning-IRS Circular 230 Disclosure: CBRE and its affiliates do not provide tax advice and nothing contained herein should be construed to be tax advice. Please be advised that any discussion of U.S. tax matters contained herein is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, by the recipient of any Information for the purpose of avoiding U.S. tax-related penalties; and was written to support the promotion or marketing of the transaction or other matters addressed herein. Accordingly, any recipient of this video should seek advice based on your particular circumstances from an independent tax advisor. You also agree that the information herein down not constitute legal or other professional advice and you should obtain legal advice from a qualified attorney licensed in your state. The opinions contained in this video are those of Karly Iacono and may not represent those of CBRE. All content is for educational purposes only. The following content may contain the trade names or trademarks of various third parties, and if so, any such use is solely for illustrative purposes only. All product and company names are trademarks™ or registered® trademarks of their respective holders. Use of them does not imply any affiliation with, endorsement by, or association of any kind between them and CBRE or Karly Iacono

What does it actually take for a retail asset to survive the next 20 years? Karly Iacono gets a rare, unfiltered look inside the investment strategy of one of the world's largest net lease REITs — live from the ICSC Las Vegas PropTech floor.

Gino Sabatini, Head of Investments at W. P. Carey, breaks down exactly how they decide what's worth owning, what they walked away from, and where they're placing big bets right now.

Topics include:

-Defining "mission-critical" retail in 2026

-The single metric that drives every underwriting decision

-A category they owned 10 years ago they'd never touch today

-How they're structuring deals in a higher rate environment

-Portfolio construction across industrial, retail, and global assets

-The office exit strategy and what came next

-Where W. P. Carey is finding opportunity right now

🔔 Subscribe for new episodes weekly.

Warning-IRS Circular 230 Disclosure: CBRE and its affiliates do not provide tax advice and nothing contained herein should be construed to be tax advice. Please be advised that any discussion of U.S. tax matters contained herein is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, by the recipient of any Information for the purpose of avoiding U.S. tax-related penalties; and was written to support the promotion or marketing of the transaction or other matters addressed herein. Accordingly, any recipient of this video should seek advice based on your particular circumstances from an independent tax advisor. You also agree that the information herein down not constitute legal or other professional advice and you should obtain legal advice from a qualified attorney licensed in your state. The opinions contained in this video are those of Karly Iacono and may not represent those of CBRE. All content is for educational purposes only. The following content may contain the trade names or trademarks of various third parties, and if so, any such use is solely for illustrative purposes only. All product and company names are trademarks™ or registered® trademarks of their respective holders. Use of them does not imply any affiliation with, endorsement by, or association of any kind between them and CBRE or Karly Iacono.

Something is shifting in net lease that every investor and owner needs to understand: cap rates are no longer moving in lockstep with the 10-year Treasury. The traditional risk premium framework is breaking down, and in its place, tenant quality, business trajectory, and lease structure are doing the pricing work.

In this episode, Karly Iacono breaks down exactly what's happening and why:

-What's compressing: McDonald's and Chick-fil-A ground leases are trading in the high 3s to low 4s — tighter than ever — even as rates move against them.

-What's widening and why it matters: Dollar General and Dollar Tree cap rates are out due to supply, not business failure. Drugstores are a different story.

-The scarcity factor: Few investment-grade retailers have single-tenant expansion pipelines right now.

-The maturity wall: Forced sellers heading into Q3/Q4 create opportunity. That's where quality product trades at rational numbers.

🔗 Connect with Karly: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karlyiacono

#netlease #commercialrealestate #cre #retailrealestate #caprates #capitalmarkets #treasuryyield #creinvesting #nnn

Warning-IRS Circular 230 Disclosure: CBRE and its affiliates do not provide tax advice and nothing contained herein should be construed to be tax advice. Please be advised that any discussion of U.S. tax matters contained herein is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, by the recipient of any Information for the purpose of avoiding U.S. tax-related penalties; and was written to support the promotion or marketing of the transaction or other matters addressed herein. Accordingly, any recipient of this video should seek advice based on your particular circumstances from an independent tax advisor. You also agree that the information herein down not constitute legal or other professional advice and you should obtain legal advice from a qualified attorney licensed in your state. The opinions contained in this video are those of Karly Iacono and may not represent those of CBRE. All content is for educational purposes only. The following content may contain the trade names or trademarks of various third parties, and if so, any such use is solely for illustrative purposes only. All product and company names are trademarks™ or registered® trademarks of their respective holders. Use of them does not imply any affiliation with, endorsement by, or association of any kind between them and CBRE or Karly Iacono.

Karly Iacono and Chris Ressa just came back from ICSC Las Vegas — 25,000 attendees, non-stop energy, and conversations that signal exactly where retail real estate is headed.

In this episode, they break down the five themes that dominated:

▶ Retailers are deploying BILLIONS into physical stores

▶ Cap rates and interest rates have decoupled

▶ AI was in every conversation

▶ Healthcare is the new QSR

▶ The hunger for in-person experience at a 25,000-person conference is a leading indicator for the future of physical retail

Whether you were at the conference or watching from the sidelines, this is the fastest way to get up to speed on where the industry stands right now.

🎙️ What's In Store? with Karly and Chris covers the intersection of retail and real estate — every month.

🔗 Connect with Karly: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karlyiacono

#RetailRealEstate #ICSC #NetLease #CommercialRealEstate #CRE #PropTech #HealthcareRealEstate #whatsinstore

Warning-IRS Circular 230 Disclosure: CBRE and its affiliates do not provide tax advice and nothing contained herein should be construed to be tax advice. Please be advised that any discussion of U.S. tax matters contained herein is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, by the recipient of any Information for the purpose of avoiding U.S. tax-related penalties; and was written to support the promotion or marketing of the transaction or other matters addressed herein. Accordingly, any recipient of this video should seek advice based on your particular circumstances from an independent tax advisor. You also agree that the information herein down not constitute legal or other professional advice and you should obtain legal advice from a qualified attorney licensed in your state. The opinions contained in this video are those of Karly Iacono and may not represent those of CBRE. All content is for educational purposes only. The following content may contain the trade names or trademarks of various third parties, and if so, any such use is solely for illustrative purposes only. All product and company names are trademarks™ or registered® trademarks of their respective holders. Use of them does not imply any affiliation with, endorsement by, or association of any kind between them and CBRE or Karly Iacono.

The CRE debt market is fluid — and that's actually good news for borrowers. In this episode of Commercial Real Estate Now, host Karly Iacono sits down with Matt Pizzolato, SVP in CBRE's Debt & Structured Finance Group, whose team placed over $3 billion in volume last year across multifamily, industrial, retail, and office.

Matt breaks down exactly where the lending environment stands today: which capital sources are most active, how spreads have shifted over the past 12–18 months, and what creative structures are getting deals done that weren't possible two years ago.

Topics covered:

-Why Matt's one word for today's market is "fluid" — and what that means for you

-Banks vs. debt funds: who's winning and why

-Construction spreads: how quickly things have moved

-Stretch senior financing and construction loan takeouts explained in plain English

-If you have a maturing loan: exactly how much runway you need to refi

-The real risk to watch — private credit contagion and its ripple effect on CRE

Whether you're refinancing, developing, or evaluating acquisition financing, this episode gives you a ground-level read on where capital is and how to access it.

#CommercialRealEstate #CREDebt #RealEstateFinance #CommercialMortgage #CapitalMarkets #CBRE #RealEstateInvesting #CREInvesting #DebtFinancing #Multifamily #IndustrialRealEstate #CommercialRealEstateNow

Warning-IRS Circular 230 Disclosure: CBRE and its affiliates do not provide tax advice and nothing contained herein should be construed to be tax advice. Please be advised that any discussion of U.S. tax matters contained herein is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, by the recipient of any Information for the purpose of avoiding U.S. tax-related penalties; and was written to support the promotion or marketing of the transaction or other matters addressed herein. Accordingly, any recipient of this video should seek advice based on your particular circumstances from an independent tax advisor. You also agree that the information herein down not constitute legal or other professional advice and you should obtain legal advice from a qualified attorney licensed in your state. The opinions contained in this video are those of Karly Iacono and may not represent those of CBRE. All content is for educational purposes only. The following content may contain the trade names or trademarks of various third parties, and if so, any such use is solely for illustrative purposes only. All product and company names are trademarks™ or registered® trademarks of their respective holders. Use of them does not imply any affiliation with, endorsement by, or association of any kind between them and CBRE or Karly Iacono.

In this episode of Commercial Real Estate Now, Karly Iacono breaks down zero cashflow investments; what they are, how the debt is structured, and why sophisticated investors specifically seek them out.

Topics covered:

-How self-amortizing, non-recourse, assumable loans make these deals work

-The pay down readvance feature and why it matters in a 1031 exchange

-Depreciation and interest expense as ongoing tax deductions

-Phantom income risk under Section 467 and how to plan for it

-Who should (and shouldn't) own one of these

Zero cashflow deals aren't underperforming assets. They perform differently and for the right investor, they're one of the most efficient structures in the net lease market.

📩 Contact: [email protected]

🔔 Subscribe for weekly CRE insights.

#commercialrealestate #netlease #ZeroCashflow #1031Exchange #CREInvesting #TaxStrategy

Warning-IRS Circular 230 Disclosure: CBRE and its affiliates do not provide tax advice and nothing contained herein should be construed to be tax advice. Please be advised that any discussion of U.S. tax matters contained herein is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, by the recipient of any Information for the purpose of avoiding U.S. tax-related penalties; and was written to support the promotion or marketing of the transaction or other matters addressed herein. Accordingly, any recipient of this video should seek advice based on your particular circumstances from an independent tax advisor. You also agree that the information herein down not constitute legal or other professional advice and you should obtain legal advice from a qualified attorney licensed in your state. The opinions contained in this video are those of Karly Iacono and may not represent those of CBRE. All content is for educational purposes only. The following content may contain the trade names or trademarks of various third parties, and if so, any such use is solely for illustrative purposes only. All product and company names are trademarks™ or registered® trademarks of their respective holders. Use of them does not imply any affiliation with, endorsement by, or association of any kind between them and CBRE or Karly Iacono.

What conversations will dominate the hallways, dinners, and booths at ICSC Las Vegas this year? In this episode, Karly Iacono and Chris Ressa break down the  themes they expect to drive every serious discussion and where the conventional wisdom is wrong.

Topics covered:

-Buyer demand vs. deal availability: why capital is ready but the product isn't

-How underwriting has structurally changed and what income-first really means

-AI and PropTech: implementation inflection point or conference theater?

-The bid-ask spread that's still not fully closed

-Why this year's show will come down to one phrase: "Show me the deals"

Retail real estate remains one of the most attractive asset classes in commercial real estate but it’s now firmly operator-driven. This episode explains what that means for investors, landlords, and tenants heading into ICSC Las Vegas.

📺 Subscribe for new episodes every week.

#RetailRealEstate #CommercialRealEstate #CREPodcast #PropTech #AIinRealEstate #RetailInvesting #WhatsInStore

Warning-IRS Circular 230 Disclosure: CBRE and its affiliates do not provide tax advice and nothing contained herein should be construed to be tax advice. Please be advised that any discussion of U.S. tax matters contained herein is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, by the recipient of any Information for the purpose of avoiding U.S. tax-related penalties; and was written to support the promotion or marketing of the transaction or other matters addressed herein. Accordingly, any recipient of this video should seek advice based on your particular circumstances from an independent tax advisor. You also agree that the information herein down not constitute legal or other professional advice and you should obtain legal advice from a qualified attorney licensed in your state. The opinions contained in this video are those of Karly Iacono and may not represent those of CBRE. All content is for educational purposes only. The following content may contain the trade names or trademarks of various third parties, and if so, any such use is solely for illustrative purposes only. All product and company names are trademarks™ or registered® trademarks of their respective holders. Use of them does not imply any affiliation with, endorsement by, or association of any kind between them and CBRE or Karly Iacono.

In this episode of Commercial Real Estate Now, host Karly Iacono sits down with Ben Crowder, Principal at Bohler, to break down the engineering and site planning realities behind retail development today.

Ben shares what retailers and developers consistently miss when evaluating sites — from overlooking existing site conditions to underestimating the entitlement process — and explains why bringing in an engineer before signing an LOI can be the difference between a smooth approval and a costly mistake.

Topics covered:

-The #1 mistake retailers make in site selection (and what to look for instead)

-How the definition of a "good retail site" has evolved over the last 5–10 years

-Drive-through design: stacking and mobile pick up

-Gas/convenience: high trip generation, access challenges, and site sizing

-Power availability and EV charging as new gating factors in retail development

-Mall and big box repositioning: flipping inside to outside, mixed-use conversions, and the "walking wallets" strategy

-Why landscape architecture and outdoor activation are no longer afterthoughts

➡️ Learn More About Bohler Here: https://bohlerengineering.com/

🔔 Subscribe for more conversations with commercial real estate operators, developers, and industry leaders.

Warning-IRS Circular 230 Disclosure: CBRE and its affiliates do not provide tax advice and nothing contained herein should be construed to be tax advice. Please be advised that any discussion of U.S. tax matters contained herein is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, by the recipient of any Information for the purpose of avoiding U.S. tax-related penalties; and was written to support the promotion or marketing of the transaction or other matters addressed herein. Accordingly, any recipient of this video should seek advice based on your particular circumstances from an independent tax advisor. You also agree that the information herein does not constitute legal or other professional advice and you should obtain legal advice from a qualified attorney licensed in your state. The opinions contained in this video are those of Karly Iacono and may not represent those of CBRE. All content is for educational purposes only. The following content may contain the trade names or trademarks of various third parties, and if so, any such use is solely for illustrative purposes only. All product and company names are trademarks™ or registered® trademarks of their respective holders. Use of them does not imply any affiliation with, endorsement by, or association of any kind between them and CBRE or Karly Iacono.

#CommercialRealEstate #SiteSelection #RetailDevelopment #CRE #DriveThrough #RetailTrends #MixedUse #BigBox #QSR #CREPodcast #BohlerEngineering #KarlyIacono

The U.S. sale leaseback market hit $14.4 billion in 2025, the highest volume since 2022, with Q4 alone surging 56% over Q3. But the headline numbers only tell part of the story.

In this episode of Commercial Real Estate Now, Karly Iacono breaks down the sale leaseback playbook: who’s executing right now, what’s driving deal volume, and where the market is getting it wrong.

Topics covered:

∙ Why dollar volume is outpacing transaction count and what that signals

∙ The refinancing wave pushing CFOs toward sale leasebacks over traditional debt

∙ How public companies and PE sponsors are using the structure differently

∙ Middle market sale leasebacks: higher stakes, idiosyncratic credit, and where deals break down

∙ The lease structure shifts buyers are demanding in 2026

∙ The arbitrage math that makes this a capital allocation decision not a rescue tool

If you're an operator or CFO considering a sale leaseback or a buyer deploying capital in net lease, this episode gives you the framework

Subscribe for weekly coverage of commercial real estate markets, net lease trends, and deal strategy.

#saleleaseback #netlease #commercialrealestate #creinvesting #capitalmarkets #NNNLease #crepodcast

Warning-IRS Circular 230 Disclosure: CBRE and its affiliates do not provide tax advice and nothing contained herein should be construed to be tax advice. Please be advised that any discussion of U.S. tax matters contained herein is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, by the recipient of any Information for the purpose of avoiding U.S. tax-related penalties; and was written to support the promotion or marketing of the transaction or other matters addressed herein. Accordingly, any recipient of this video should seek advice based on your particular circumstances from an independent tax advisor. You also agree that the information herein down not constitute legal or other professional advice and you should obtain legal advice from a qualified attorney licensed in your state. The opinions contained in this video are those of Karly Iacono and may not represent those of CBRE. All content is for educational purposes only. The following content may contain the trade names or trademarks of various third parties, and if so, any such use is solely for illustrative purposes only. All product and company names are trademarks™ or registered® trademarks of their respective holders. Use of them does not imply any affiliation with, endorsement by, or association of any kind between them and CBRE or Karly Iacono.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup isn’t just a global sporting event, it’s a multi-year economic and real estate catalyst.

With 48 teams, 100+ matches, and millions of visitors expected, host markets across the U.S. are already seeing the early stages of infrastructure investment, tourism expansion, and retail demand shifts.

In this episode of Commercial Real Estate Now, we break down what actually happens to retail real estate when global demand surges and where investors should be paying attention now, not during the games.

📈 What we cover:

• How past global events have driven double-digit retail sales spikes in host markets

• Why infrastructure investment (transit, airports, hospitality) creates lasting retail corridors

• The retail sectors positioned to win

• Why some locations will underperform despite the hype

• The difference between temporary demand vs. durable rent growth

🧠 Key takeaway:

This isn’t about short-term traffic.It’s about where long-term demand gets permanently re-routed.

#realestate #commercialrealestate #retailrealestate #worldcup2026 #investmentstrategy

Warning-IRS Circular 230 Disclosure: CBRE and its affiliates do not provide tax advice and nothing contained herein should be construed to be tax advice. Please be advised that any discussion of U.S. tax matters contained herein is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, by the recipient of any Information for the purpose of avoiding U.S. tax-related penalties; and was written to support the promotion or marketing of the transaction or other matters addressed herein. Accordingly, any recipient of this video should seek advice based on your particular circumstances from an independent tax advisor. You also agree that the information herein down not constitute legal or other professional advice and you should obtain legal advice from a qualified attorney licensed in your state. The opinions contained in this video are those of Karly Iacono and may not represent those of CBRE. All content is for educational purposes only. The following content may contain the trade names or trademarks of various third parties, and if so, any such use is solely for illustrative purposes only. All product and company names are trademarks™ or registered® trademarks of their respective holders. Use of them does not imply any affiliation with, endorsement by, or association of any kind between them and CBRE or Karly Iacono.