There was no mistaking the prevailing mood among the attendees and panelists Thursday at Connect Orange County 2025. As like most of the nation, “uncertainty” was the word of the day. Celebrating Connect’s 10-year anniversary as a company and a CRE conference leader, the one-day event took place at Hyatt Regency in Irvine in front of a standing-room-only crowd, who all seemed to come to find answers and hope for what Q1 and 2025 will bring.
The event included five panels discussing the local and national markets, where it’s going, insurance, attracting and retaining talent; AI, transactions in today’s market and in the future and political interaction—dealing with Sacramento.
Last year, it was the Fed’s hesitancy to lower the interest rates that seemed to garner the most attention from the CRE community, but that concern seems to have been replaced by the uncertainty of where the market will go. There are fears of a recession, driven by tariffs. There is the instability of global issues like the EU and the war in Ukraine. For some on the panels, it’s a wait and see. And for other panelists, the current marketplace seems like we’re in purgatory. Other panels that day addressed these concerns, plus other issues like insurance rates, the LA fires and remote work.
Kurt Strasmann of CBRE served as moderator on the first panel, where he was joined by Greg Ames of Trammell Crow Company, Timothy Ballard, Buchanan Street Partners and Eric Paulsen of Kidder Mathews. The panel focused on Orange County’s commercial real estate market and where it is headed in Q1 and 2025. Topics ranged from OC’s office market, which some suggested demolishing 25 percent of the county’s office buildings, the Treasury, return to work, tariffs and the current mood of uncertainty.
In regard to OC’s office market, Ames had his opinion, noting that OC’s office problem is not over supply but not enough demolition, which he called the single best way to reposition an office building… with a bulldozer.
Involvement in the political landscape, which Paulsen called vital, should be an essential ingredient for all CRE players, especially given the current Sacramento landscape. “There are more bills right now than ever before. There are currently 2500 bills that have been submitted,” he said, noting that of those bills, 40 of them we oppose and 20 of these bills we enthusiastically support. Bottom line, the legislators need to know CRE’s position. And that can only come from us.
The event concluded with the Lifetime Achievement Award, which was given to Guy Johnson of Johnson Capital Advisors.
With three decades of commercial real estate finance services, asset management, and private equity investing, Johnson is the founder and CEO of Johnson Capital. Johnson Capital originated billions in annual finance transactions with Johnson transacting several different Johnson Capital operating entities to various NYSE public companies, including Prudential Insurance, CBRE, and Walker & Dunlop. Also participating in the award ceremony included Val Achtemeier of CBRE, Gary Bechtel of Red Oak Capital Holdings and Cliff Carnes of Matthews Real Estate Investment Services.
The second half of this coverage will appear Tuesday.
Pictured: The “Getting Deals Done in Today’s Market & Beyond” panel.
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