All Viewpoints

AI agents are revolutionizing real estate dealmaking.by Andrew SiahCo-Founder & CEO of New York AI Labs

On April 22, 2025, the Paul Milstein Center for Real Estate hosted an insightful panel moderated by center co-director Professor Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh, featuring industry leaders Nasir Alamgir (Barings), Richard Cantor (Moody’s Investor Services), and Catherine Chen (Apollo Global Management). Below we summarize key insights on the evolving relationship between insurance companies, private equity (PE) asset managers, and commercial real estate lending that emerged from the panel discussion.

Professor Parinitha (Pari) Sastry is an assistant professor of finance at Columbia Business School. Her research focuses on climate change, financial intermediation, and real-estate markets. She received her B.A. from Columbia University and her finance Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She has worked previously at the Department of Treasury, Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures, Brookings Institution, and New York Fed. 

There is a lot of chatter in the housing world right now about what the Trump administration’s plans are with respect to housing policy, but one thing is clear - there has not been this much attention paid to housing and this much potential for favorable housing legislation and deregulation in a long time.  This is the first time the President has been a lifelong real estate developer who appreciates the challenges of regulation and who is a big believer in private sector engagement.  Recent reports that the Trump Administration is seeking significant cuts to the HUD workforce have engendered concern from some Democrats, but in my view, the environment for positive change will not get better than it is right now. Time is of the essence.