As featured in “Bisnow“
Billy Wadsack, Bisnow, 19 November, 2024
Our CEO of RR Living, Melanie French, recently took the stage at the Bisnow: Women Leading Commercial Real Estate Conference as part of the Capital Catalysts panel. During her discussion, Melanie highlighted how the commercial real estate industry has navigated the challenges of the past two years, including rising interest rates, increased operational costs, and striving to meet investor and owner metrics—all while fostering a sense of calm and resilience among her team.
We are incredibly proud of Melanie’s leadership and the inspiring contributions of the trailblazing women shaping the future of CRE.
To learn more about the conference and Melanie’s key insights, read below. For the full story, click here.
On the multifamily side, RREAF Residential CEO Melanie French said she is starting to see more real estate-owned properties and properties heading toward foreclosure because they aren’t covering debt. She expects to see a significant chunk of that going into assets that couldn’t make it through the last three years.
“Right now, I’m talking with four different owners about taking on properties to manage that have been foreclosed on,” French said. “That is a much larger number than in the last 12 to 18 months.”
When forging strong relationships with capital sources, Schmeltz said she has had success getting things to the finish line by being transparent about risks and deadlines. Open communication is vital to success, especially in difficult markets, Leatherman said.
“In terms of leading a team, it’s really important to have a positive outlook, especially in tough times,” Leatherman said. “Someone once told me, ‘Positive people get deals done. Negative people just sound smart.’ That’s really true. If you’re all pushing in the same direction, you’re going to get the deal done one way or another.”
French said there are three things that are critical to anyone looking to climb the corporate ladder.
“That’s what I call TCR: trust, credibility and rapport,” French said. “It starts with that, because at the end of the day, it is a business of relationships [and] a business of influence.”
We appreciate and thank Bisnow, especially Billy Wadsack, Andre Clarke, Jacob Terpstra, and Hussain Masumi for giving us the opportunity to speak at the Women Leading Commercial Real Estate Conference. To access the full article on Bisnow’s website, please click here.
