Cautious optimism is an overused term in our industry. I think that is partly due to the idea that cautious optimism should be a natural state of any prudent investor. The underlying reasons for being optimistic, albeit with measured concerns, vary due to market conditions. At the Visions, Insights & Perspectives (VIP) Americas conferences in 2018 and 2019, real estate had a lot of good things going for it, such as low rates and favorable tax policies, but the concerns crept in because the upward trend was getting very long in the tooth since the global financial crisis recovery. Panels were talking about how to use proptech to improve NOI, and ESG was espoused as another tool to differentiate your firm amid a market where all ships were rising with the tide.

Fast forward to VIP Americas in 2022, 2023 and 2024, and there was more caution than optimism coming out of COVID-19, inflation and high interest rates. While people had a little optimism because, well, how