Willy was joined by Tom Gilbane, Managing Member and Co-President of Rockpoint, at the 2025 Zelman Housing Summit.
He and Willy discussed Rockpoint’s investment strategy, Tom’s outlook on the office and multifamily sectors, trends in rent growth, and the impact of AI across CRE asset classes. They also covered the state of the life sciences industry, sustainability standards, Tom’s perspective on the industrial sector, Rockpoint’s current priorities, and much more.
Key Points In The Webcast:
00:00 Introduction
02:04 Golfing and quitting alcohol
03:39 Investing in Margaritaville and its amenities
07:16 What Rockpoint looks for in an investment
10:49 Being bullish on office and selling a portfolio
12:27 Is Austin doing well in office and multifamily?
14:58 Zero rent growth in 2025: What to do about it
16:41 Strategic approach to investing in Manhattan
20:04 How AI will impact housing and office
22:00 Should we follow where Ivy grads are going?
23:45 Why Tom isn’t running Gilbane
26:48 The impact of tariffs and inflation on Gilbane
28:50 Building in life sciences
31:25 The state of life sciences as an industry
32:56 The demand for green buildings and renewable energy
35:24 How Rockpoint and Gilbane learn from each other
38:59 Creating an AI data lake
40:35 Is Rockpoint bullish on industrial?
44:58 The opportunity for selling data
49:41 Rockpoint’s current focus
53:45 An optimistic view on future rent increase
55:17 A huge source of capital from an equity fund strategy
56:22 When will Rockpoint buy in Austin?
57:00 Where rent numbers should be
58:49 The fight for data in broker conversation
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