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January 2024 Philadelphia Mastermind Group Key Take Aways!

  • There are concerns around AI that come from popular culture. That concept is probably far-fetched, but may influence our culture, our lives and our works. (Warren Tingen – Tingen Creative)
  • AI won’t replace your job, but someone who knows how to use it might. (Warren Tingen – Tingen Creative)
  • Many people have been quietly using AI in their lives without realizing it.(Warren Tingen – Tingen Creative)
  • There is a subset of AI called generative AI, which creates new content, design and solutions. (Warren Tingen – Tingen Creative)
  • The growth in AI will create a lot of need for infrastructure for things like data storage. (Warren Tingen – Tingen Creative)
  • As companies move from start up locations, they’re going to be looking for locations with cheaper land and resource costs, and also looking for talent. (Warren Tingen – Tingen Creative)
  • 500+ companies provide AI powered services to the real estate market. (Warren Tingen – Tingen Creative)
  • The pros of AI revolve around idea creation and speed, improving efficiency and cost effectiveness. For $80 per month, you can have unlimited access to various tools and it’s very easy for anyone to use. (Warren Tingen – Tingen Creative)
  • There are big concerns about plagiarism, inaccurate information, theft, and then the quality and creativeness of content. (Warren Tingen – Tingen Creative)
  • The future will likely see AI touch a broad array of topics throughout our work and our lives. (Warren Tingen – Tingen Creative)
  • The more specific you are with requests, the better your output will be. (Warren Tingen – Tingen Creative)
  • Currently, Microsoft / Open AI and Google seem to be battling it out for top spot. (Warren Tingen – Tingen Creative)
  • ChatGPT can break down a company’s style and tone and identify potential target audiences or create a summary of a video or find information in a long document. (Warren Tingen – Tingen Creative)
  • Currently, documents uploaded could potentially be public, but companies are working on enterprise accounts to keep info more private. (Warren Tingen – Tingen Creative)
  • Midjourney is an image generator and helps to create concepts for projects. (Warren Tingen – Tingen Creative)
  • Regarding legal issues, current guidance is that something you’ve created with significant edit and review is considered yours. (Warren Tingen – Tingen Creative)
  • It’s been a busy market, mainly with infrastructure related projects across the country. (Robert Bright – Talson Solutions)
  • There are a lot of projects on hold with major questions, but still just on hold. (Robert Bright – Talson Solutions)
  • Penn State Abington is building out a real estate program and has lots of hardworking students interested in working in that industry. (Matt Hoffman – Penn State Abington)
  • 2023 didn’t have a lot of trading and had a lot of extensions. (Matt Hoffman – Penn State Abington)
  • What they’re hearing from The Fed is that things are going to be easier. Expects rates to be lower next year. (Matt Hoffman – Penn State Abington)
  • Borrowers are doing what they can do to continue their existing loan structure. Lenders are receptive to different degrees in different circumstances. (Matt Hoffman – Penn State Abington)
  • Operationally, the market remains slow, though it is often slow this time of year. (Christian Dalzell – Counter Management)
  • The new supply in town is adding concessions to the market and they may be giving back some of the rent increases picked up in recent years. (Christian Dalzell – Counter Management)
  • Until The Fed comes out with strong language, cap rate probably won’t change. (Christian Dalzell – Counter Management)
  • Just wrapped up Q4 and noticed a big difference between trophy Class A and standard Class A, both in vacancy and in rates. (Trae Hoffner – Newmark)
  • Once groups move from larger offices into smaller spaces, vacancies will likely increase. (Trae Hoffner – Newmark)
  • Newmark has created their own AI with their own black box with Newmark’s content, which helps with privacy issues. (Carolyn Bates – Newmark)
  • There are lots of underwater office buildings in Washington DC, and they’ve rendered photos of what DC might look like with more open space using AI. (Carolyn Bates – Newmark)
  • AI will allow for easier reconciliation of data and will allow them to be more creative without the use of a graphic designer. (Carolyn Bates – Newmark)
  • End of Q4, proposals were down about 13%, which included a severe decline in private work but January is trending up. (Craig Bryson – Pennoni Associates)
  • Interest rates didn’t drop, but there’s more stability. (Craig Bryson – Pennoni Associates)
  • SEPTA and Amtrak are doing a lot of projects. (Craig Bryson – Pennoni Associates)
  • AI is very helpful in terms of initial concepts. Months or years of work can be reduced into minutes, which is a very different world view. (Jim Karmolinski – Kelly Maiello Architects)
  • Have been busy over the past quarter and having difficulty finding consultants who are able to take on work. (Jim Karmolinski – Kelly Maiello Architects)
  • Over the past year has been reading about AI and had no idea what it could do. (Ed Opall – EisnerAmper)
  • Had an issue with a tenant client with issues with their lease that involved specific legal wording in the lease. (Ed Opall – EisnerAmper)
  • Working on enhancing reports and linking to data sources. (Robert Meulmeester –  B | Riley Financial)
  • They are focused on doing valuations. (Robert Meulmeester –  B | Riley Financial)
  • Insurable value has been a big issue in the market. Replacement costs have gone up significantly and market values have not kept pace. (Robert Meulmeester –  B | Riley Financial)
  • Has looked into a lot of saw mills, as timber has been in demand. (Robert Meulmeester –  B | Riley Financial)
  • Is seeing more litigation projects and the IRS is doing more auditing work. (Robert Meulmeester –  B | Riley Financial)
  • The year has started a little slow, but that is normal. (Robert Meulmeester –  B | Riley Financial)
  • Thought Christmas was going to be slow, but it wasn’t. The team has remained very busy. (Lorena Rodriguez – Talson Solutions)
  • 2023 was supposed to be a really big year with 6-7 projects going into construction, but that did not happen. (Maria Sourbeer – Mosaic Development Partners)
  • Has spent a lot of time value engineering. (Maria Sourbeer – Mosaic Development Partners, Joseph Viturello – PernaFrederick Commercial Real Estate)
  • Had to be very creative with their capital stack, analyzing various types of financing. (Maria Sourbeer – Mosaic Development Partners)
  • Insurance rates are very high and stick built environment has quadrupled recently. (Maria Sourbeer – Mosaic Development Partners)
  • Has been looking more closely at pushing the envelope in modular construction. (Maria Sourbeer – Mosaic Development Partners)
  • Projects that are on hold are still being talked about as projects, not off the table. (Joseph Viturello – PernaFrederick Commercial Real Estate)
  • Fourth quarter was the best of the year and went right into the new year. (Joseph Viturello – PernaFrederick Commercial Real Estate)
  • Not expecting certain projects to happen until the interest rates come down. (Chris Beahan – Pella Windows and Doors)
  • Company expanded by purchasing a smaller company to expand the types of window services they’re able to offer. (Chris Beahan – Pella Windows and Doors)
  • There is a lot going on with universities. (Chris Beahan – Pella Windows and Doors)
  • Expecting a good year. (Chris Beahan – Pella Windows and Doors)
  • 2023 wasn’t bad in the construction world. Some concerns may have been lifted a little bit. (Michael Mostochuk – EisnerAmper)
  • In the affordable housing space, seeing some rent increases and more vacancies with evictions being allowed. (Michael Mostochuk – EisnerAmper)
  • Ended up having a very busy December, with two deals closing before the end of the year. (Sara McCormick – Ballard Spahr)
  • There are lots of projects on hold that have not been abandoned. (Sara McCormick – Ballard Spahr)
  • Anecdotally it feels a little busier. (Sara McCormick – Ballard Spahr)
  • 2023 seemed more positive than 2022. Thinks things will level out on the construction side. (Matt Musilli – Johnson, Kendall & Johnson)
  • Stick built is a mess in insurance and capacity is shrinking. (Matt Musilli – Johnson, Kendall & Johnson)
  • There is no talk about when rates will be cut. (Kevin Curran – Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia)
  • Saw strong job numbers in December, but offset by downward revisions in previous months. (Kevin Curran – Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia)
  • The next FOMC meeting is at the end of the month. (Kevin Curran – Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia)

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