Real Crowd Podcast

Troy Merkel is a Partner at RSM.

Troy has 15 years of experience in audit and consulting, with a particular emphasis in real estate and financial services reporting, in accordance with US GAAP, IFRS, NCREIF PREA Reporting Standards and income tax basis. He is also an expert in accounting for asset acquisitions and complex leases and specializes in various tax-advantageous, in particular Opportunity Zones and government subsidized deal structures.

Troy’s financial services background involves audits of private equity funds, which hold equity or debt interests in a variety of industries including technology, consumer products, personal services, real estate and renewable resources. His expertise includes complex valuations, mezzanine and first lender analysis, as well as, the evaluation of options.

In 2018, Troy was selected as a senior analyst in RSM’s cutting edge Industry Eminence Program, which positions its senior analysts to understand, forecast and communicate economic, business and technology trends shaping the industries RSM serves. These senior analysts advise clients on conditions impacting middle market leaders. Troy’s focus is on the real estate industry.

David Pascale joined George Smith Partners more than two decades ago, leaving behind a successful career in intellectual property rights management. Now, as GSP’s most Senior Vice President/Deal Manager, Mr. Pascale has directly overseen the placement of nearly $4 billion capital into commercial real estate. He has an expertise in virtually every aspect of commercial real estate debt placement with distinct specializations in CMBS, bridge loans, credit tenant leases. He has worked extensively on retail, multifamily, hotel, office, and mixed use transactions. With a background in law, Mr. Pascale also brings loan document expertise and is able to explain and negotiate deal points and structure. He serves as an advisor to new company members.

In addition to his primary responsibility of client management, Mr. Pascale has been involved with the marketing of the firm in a number of different capacities and is primarily credited with transforming the firm’s highly regarded FINfacts newsletter from a quarterly to a weekly publication. Mr. Pascale now offers his expertise via a weekly column in FINfacts known as the hugely popular “Pascales Perspective.” This column provides readers detailed information on trends affecting the United States Real Estate Markets by combining national/international macro overviews with specific microeconomic events.

Carl Whitaker is Market Analytics Manager for RealPage, Inc., where he blends in his passions for geography and teaching to foster a practical, applied understanding of apartment data and analysis. He specializes in creating in-depth reports and presentations to allow for easier consumption and application of data and analysis.

Prior to joining RealPage, Carl was a Market Analyst for Axiometrics and an analyst for Catalyst Commercial, a Dallas-based economic development solutions firm.

Carl received a bachelor’s degree in secondary education and a master’s degree in applied geography from the University of North Texas.

4 Day Week Global is a not-for-profit community established by Andrew Barnes and Charlotte Lockhart to provide a platform for like-minded people who are interested in supporting the idea of the four-day week as a part of the future of work. This idea was born out of the waves of attention we received from around the world in reaction to our successful program launched at Perpetual Guardian in 2018.

We encourage business, employees, researchers, and government to all play their part in creating a new way of working which will improve business productivity, worker health outcomes, stronger families and communities, challenge the gender equality issue, and work towards a more sustainable work environment.

Learn more at https://4dayweek.com/

Jamie Woodwell is Vice President in the Research and Economics group at the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), where he oversees MBA's research and related activities covering the commercial and multifamily real estate markets.

Jamie and his work are regularly cited in the media, on Capitol Hill and in regulatory settings. He is a regular speaker at industry and corporate events; has appeared on CNBC, Bloomberg and in other popular and trade press; and testified before the Congressional Oversight Panel for TARP. Jamie initiated many of MBA's research activities, and created MBA's Peer Business Roundtables and the CREF Careers program.

Jamie joined MBA in 2004 from Fannie Mae, where he was responsible for multifamily data initiatives. He has also served as senior director of business development at CapitalThinking in New York, research director at the WMF Group in Virginia, and research manager at the National League of Cities in Washington, D.C.

Jamie is a member of the Urban Land Institute, the Counselors of Real Estate, the American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association and other professional and industry groups. Jamie received his bachelor's degree in economics and American studies from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. He earned his master's degree in urban and regional planning from the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh.

Raymond Fang is a senior associate in Goodwin’s Real Estate Industry group. Mr. Fang is a
corporate/transactional lawyer with a focus on UK and Pan European real estate M&A, investments, and joint ventures, acting for international and domestic private equity, institutional, listed and private clients. Mr. Fang is experienced executing UK and cross-border private M&A transactions, from corporate structures owning a trophy single RE asset to large multi-jurisdiction portfolios, and including operational assets/businesses across the Real Estate spectrum.

Mr. Fang is a thought leader on the impact of disruptive convergence on the real estate industry, and is part of the Goodwin PropTech and Life Sciences Real Estate initiatives.

With the public markets in turmoil, the breadth of the outbreak unknown and information coming from all different angles, we wanted to take the opportunity to have a conversation about what the potential impacts of the COVID-19 virus might be on commercial real estate.

While the personal impacts of this outbreak hit close to home here in Portland, OR, we understand the uncertainty this is causing for investors generally, and more specifically as it relates to their portfolios and potential investments in direct real estate investments.

The safety of our community always comes first, and please find the links to the CDC and WHO’s most current updates on the outbreak. Basic hygiene seems to be the best preventative measure at this point, so wash those hands and practice vigilance if experiencing any symptoms.

In this episode, Mitch Roschelle, Partner at PwC, was kind enough to spend an hour with us this morning discussing the macro impacts, the recent market swings and a property category specific outlook for each of the major investment classes.

We discuss the Adjustment Process as outlined in this great article by Dr. Peter Sandman, what economic factors to watch as this continues to unfold, and Mitch’s outlook on each of the main asset categories of commercial real estate investments.

We are definitely in the very early stages of this outbreak here in the US, and it remains to be seen what the ultimate outcome may be. Mitch provides commentary on how the long term, contractual nature of real estate cash flow should help insulate it from the volatility we are currently seeing in the equity markets and how volatility often leads to a flight to safety and stability - something that direct investments in income producing real estate tends to provide over the long term compared to its more liquid counterparts.

As always, please let us know your thoughts on this issue and if there are any specific topics you would like us to cover. We understand this is a developing scenario, so please note this podcast was recorded on the morning of March 3, 2020 and as we learn new information, what was discussed may become subject to new information.

Stay safe out there and we hope this episode helps illuminate the state of the market as it relates to COVID-19’s impact on your real estate investments.

**Less than an hour after we recorded this episode, it was announced that the Federal Reserve cut the target range for the Federal Funds Rate by 50bps as was discussed on the episode.**

California native, Dave, credits his grandfather for his early interest in real estate—and has not forgotten his motto: operate with integrity. As Associate Vice President, Investments, for CIM Group in Los Angeles, David completed over $575 million in investments in apartments, condominiums, retail, commercial offices, and hotels, a role that demanded a balance of creativity and financial acumen. David graduated Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a B.A. in Economics from Northwestern University and received his MBA from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. In addition to his role at Calvera, he currently serves on the boards of The Contemporary Jewish Museum, the Jewish Federation of San Francisco, and is a member of the Advisory Council at ArtPoint at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. He is an avid supporter of San Francisco sports teams and enjoys arts and cultural events, Top 40 music and a good party.

Brandon Hall, Founder of the Real Estate CPA joined us back for another round on the podcast to answer more of your top questions on Real Estate Tax, as well as discuss the tax climate going into 2020. 

Brandon is the Founder/CEO of The Real Estate CPA. Brandon works with real estate investors, syndicates, and private equity funds to optimize tax positions and streamline accounting and business functions.

He believes that real estate investing is critical to building sustainable and generational wealth.
Brandon worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ernst & Young prior to launching his own CPA firm, Hall CPA PLLC (The Real Estate CPA). Through the knowledge gain by working with real estate investors, Brandon invests in multi-family properties personally and through his capital group, Naked Capital.
Brandon is a Certified Public Accountant and national speaker. Brandon holds degrees in both Accounting and Finance from East Carolina University.

Mitch Roschelle is a accomplished thought leadership and marketing professional. With over three decades of consulting experience in real estate, corporate finance and capital markets, Mitch leads PwC's business development efforts across multiple sectors. He is a thought leader and frequent public speaker. As spokesperson on a wide array of topics, Mitch is a regular guest in the broadcast and print media. Additionally, he is the executive producer and co-host of PwC's weekly YouTube program known as 7DayYield. 

You can follow Mitch on twitter at: @Mitch_Roschelle.