Q&A: Cassin & Cassin’s Michael Hurley at CREFC Miami
By Matt Grossman January 8, 2018 2:14 pm
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Just as breakfast wrapped up on the first day of the Commercial Real Estate Finance Council’s January conference on a windswept morning at the Loewes Miami Beach Hotel, Commercial Observer stole half an unbilled hour for a breezy conversation with Michael Hurley Jr., newly promoted managing partner at Cassin & Cassin. Pushing back against some antsy developers we spoke with last week, Hurley discussed why he thinks New York investors won’t quit the local scene anytime soon.
Commercial Observer: What are you working on down here when you’re not meeting with reporters?
Michael Hurley: It’s an opportunity for us to meet with clients that we otherwise wouldn’t have access to in New York. All of our clients are here, so it’s a great sponsorship opportunity for us. We catch up with existing clients, and meet new people. We’re here to network.
Any questions you’re hoping to developing your thinking on?
When it comes to the business cycle, I’m looking for more insight into what inning the experts think we’re in, and how they feel the tax reform is going to impact commercial real estate finance. It would make sense that the measures taken [in the reform] would be good for commercial real estate investment.
Everyone seems happy to have escaped the weather up north for a few days. Do you think industry sentiment is moving away from the city in general?
I don’t sense a move away from New York. People feel that New York is the safest place to invest your money. If anything, there’s maybe a move away from some of the sand states [in the American Southwest]. The concerns there are overdelopment, oversupply and decrease in demand. And the retail sector is certainly an issue too. Was it Macy’s that just said they would lay off 5,000 people? That’s a major issue.
