Between Two Chairs - Demystifying Commercial Real Estate

What do a military family, the Women's Investment Summit, and self storage have in common? Lauren Rothlisberger of Everett & Harvey and Serious Storage. In this episode Lauren shares her investment journey from residential rental properties into self storage and the nuances of being a General Partner. Her path hasn't been easy, because let's be real, real estate deals aren't easy, but it has been extremely well thought out. From the conscious tie to family with the business name to the details of scaling a business while living overseas, Lauren's background as a military wife plays a strong role in her investing and operating strategies. Three of the many takeaways include:1) Assessing real risk vs perceived risk and backwards plan for worst case scenario 2) Always look at the repositioning options further down the road and3) How to overcome the challenge of obtaining commercial financing when you are new to commercial real estate investing.Whether you are a current or aspiring real estate investor, this episode will provide you with insights into the self storage niche. Thank you for pulling up a chair!

"Mixed Urban Is A Trend, Not Trendy" The 2026 CCIM Miami Monroe Outlook Conference delivered a clear message: Miami’s commercial real estate market is not collapsing — it’s recalibrating.In this episode, we break down the biggest takeaways from industry leaders including Jeffrey Havsey of Moody’s Analytics, Terry Fraser Reid of Miami Freedom Park, Michael Berkowitz of Berkowitz Development Group, South Miami Mayor Javier Fernandez, Carrie Smith of Franklin Street, Grant Killingsworth of CBRE, Edison Vasquez of ComReal, and Mitash Kripalani of Cushman & Wakefield.Some of the highlights include:Retail: Notable submarkets:BrickellWynwoodCoral GablesCoconut Grove (reestablished primary market)South Miami (Sunset Place redevelopment catalyst)Industrial: 2025 favored tenants, with:Higher concessionsSlower lease-up timesTariff-related pauses mid-yearBut new construction has slowed significantly, meaning fewer deliveries in 2–3 years. By Q4 2026, leverage is projected to shift back toward landlords.A key tension to watch: the disconnect between developer-required land pricing ($2–$2.5M/acre) and owner expectations ($3M+/acre).The Big Picture for 2026: Miami CRE is entering a phase of:Slower but stabilizing fundamentalsModerating rent growthDecelerating supplyImproving sentimentSector-specific leverage shiftsIt’s no longer a frenzy market. It’s a fundamentals market.And in that environment, underwriting, local expertise, and strategic positioning matter more than ever.

It is an election year, which means Florida Realtors and the Florida Legislature start their meetings and session much earlier than usual. The conversations this year are all about affordability and potential policies that can make Florida more affordable. Insurance, housing, property taxes, permitting and zoning all affect affordability and legislators are looking at all of these items. Think Bigger is something Beth Azor encourages her women investors to do and we think it is appropriate in this context as well. Thinking bigger allows for a big picture view of how a policy aimed at one sector may affect another, often with uninteded consequences. How can tech help address some of the inefficiencies that lead to increase costs and, therefore, a decrease in affordability. These topics and more are explored in this issue, where we highlight some of the topics that arose during our midwinter meetings.

Join us as we break down a small strip center listing we had in a transitioning market. How does pricing affect the number of offers you get? How do you work with multiple absentee owners, owners who don't want to counter any offers, what happens when you are circumvented after an NDA is signed. One thing about commercial real estate is that no two deals are ever the same and we learn something with every transaction. Pull up a chair and see if you learn anything as we dissect this deal.

The commercial refrain since 2022 or 2023 has been "Survive 'til '25". The extremely rapid rise in interest rates brought a lot of uncertainty to the market, especially for those assets with loans coming due at a time when rents were lower, vacancy rates were higher and, as a result, valuations were lower. Well, '25 is in the rear view mirror and the 4th quarter in South Florida, at least at our company, was strong in terms of both leasing and sales. Is this a sign of a 2026 CRE resurgence? Tune in to hear from ULI and The Counselors of Real Estate predictions for this year. We wish you a healthy and prosperous 2026 with new deals, relationships, and opportunities for growth.