OK — a lot has happened since Commercial Observer last published Owners Magazine.

Not least was the reality setting in that what often seemed ironclad was, in fact, transitory. Office is bad, until office is great. Retail is dead, until it’s roaring to life. Life sciences is the invulnerable asset class that will always need new lab space — wait, no, it isn’t, and no, it won’t!

But that’s precisely why it’s good to take the temperature once a year. Go to the biggest owners in commercial real estate and ask them plainly: What do you see?

Traditionally, we always asked our 35 to 45 owners the same questions. And we figured there was value in that. Taken together, the different answers form a perspective on where things were and where they were going.

This year, given that aforementioned disconnect between what seems the correct take and what actually is, we figured there was not as much value in asking an office maven like Hilary Spann about retail trends as asking her about … you know, office.

Even though every owner this year got a bespoke set of questions, there were some common themes that ran through the answers. (Everyone got the same lightning round, which included questions about Jerome Powell and interest rates — along with queries about kisscams and Stephen Starr restaurants.)

Interest rates are a topic about which almost every owner had something to say.

“There’s a backlog of capital waiting for pricing clarity,” said Aurora’s Jared Epstein, “and a lower-rate environment would unlock both debt and equity plays across asset classes, especially for well-
located, cash-flowing properties. Discipline always matters; quality and location will lead.”

The vast majority of those surveyed said they believed rates would go down. A couple of contrarians said rates would go up. Some were noncommittal. (“I’ve been saying down for the past three years,” said Rick Gropper. “Third time’s a charm?”) Our favorite response was probably Jake Elghanayan’s:

“Who knows?”

Great information seeps into these answers. “Our development at 125 West 57th Street is bringing a new concept to Billionaires’ Row, from the same hospitality group known for their popular flagship Mother Wolf restaurant in Los Angeles,” said Kenneth Horn. (If you appreciate L.A. dining, you know that this is a very big deal.)

But this Owners Magazine feels less like a compendium of surveys, and more like interviews. We like it better.

Along with these questions and answers, we also included a number of stories. Brian Pascus asked some of these owners and others if Trump 2.0 matched their expectations. Isabelle Durso asked office owners and the firms that service their buildings what (if anything) they had done to improve security after the horrific shooting at 345 Park Avenue in July. Patrick Sisson looked at an owner who did not fill out the survey — Simon Property Group — but who has been riding the retail resurgence. And, finally, Philip Russo asked what owners need to know about AI because, yes, this is going to be on the test. — Max Gross