On Tuesday, May 22nd, area professionals gathered at PNC Bank at 1600 Market Street for what was an informative morning at the ULI Philadelphia event, Taking Stock: Repercussions of Rising Interest Rates. After some breakfast and morning networking, attendees sat to listen to an engaging panel moderated by Shawn Howton, Faculty Director of the Daniel M. DiLella Center for Real Estate and finance professor at Villanova University. The panel was composed of Carl Dranoff, President of Dranoff Properties, Tina Hwang, Managing Director in the PNC-Derivatives Products Group, Jonathan Miniman, Principal/Portfolio Manager at CBRE Clarion Securities, and Lacy Rice, Partner at FCP.

While each panelist came with different expertise and experience, they together provided a comprehensive, multi-perspective discussion of the changing interest rate landscape where rates are expected to rise. While all acknowledged rising rates, there was not a sense of panic for the market – re-urbanization has created new demand for the market and good projects with experienced developers will still be funded. For Dranoff, rate fluctuations are nothing new. He remarked that developers have “seen nothing but sunshine” for the past few years and now are starting to see “storm clouds” – but developers should always be planning for the downside. Beyond rates, all panelists remarked there are other factors at play, including rising material and labor costs, firm management, foreign demand, and capital availability, which will differentiate firms in the changing landscape.

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Nicole Robertson is pursuing her MBA as member of The Wharton School’s Class of 2019 and has been honored with selection as a Wharton Forté Fellow. Following her passions, she is pursuing dual majors in Real Estate as well as Business Economics and Public Policy.