Every year since 1990, commercial real estate professionals from across disciplines have gathered in Omaha to discuss industry innovations and regional market trends at the CRE Summit. This year, members of Metonic’s leadership team joined the conversation directly by participating in a live deal underwriting panel. The Metonic team left the summit with valuable takeaways about Nebraska’s growth, the local retail market, and the nature of the industry.
CRE Summit Takeaways
From three members of the Metonic team
Growth-Friendly Governance
Molly Leith – Finance Manager
Our local legislators remain focused on making sure Omaha is an attractive market for young adults and families. On the financing side, tax increment financing was favored by the state senators at the Summit, more so than tax abatements, since it protects existing government revenue streams.
At the statewide level, legislation such as the Grow the Good Life Act is encouraging population growth and prosperity across Nebraska. A rising tide lifts all boats; as jobs and investment continue to grow across the state, the multifamily industry stands to benefit as well.
A Close-Knit Industry
Rachel McCown – Senior Manager of Investor Relations
Every year the Summit reminds me how closely knit this industry is. The brokers, lenders, and operators in that room are the same people the team calls to make deals happen. Those relationships make Metonic better at sourcing and executing, and that shows up in the quality of what we are able to put in front of investors.
Retailers are Bullish on Omaha’s Growth
Evan Andrews – Asset Management Team Lead
Kirk Hansen (Access Commercial) and Dan Woodbury (Woodbury Corporation) offered strong context on retail growth in Omaha, contrasting a resident’s perspective with a non-resident investor’s and coming to the same conclusion that the market is positioned for sustained growth following a tapering off of the 2010’s shift toward e-commerce and away from brick-and-mortar retail.
Woodbury Corporation’s bullish outlook, reflected in its Crossroads acquisition, hinges largely on Omaha’s population crossing the 1MM+ threshold, which is expected to draw another wave of large and mid-sized retail tenants into the market.