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

https://www.afire.org/podcast/202401cast/

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.