Summary

President Trump’s executive order on “Unleashing American Energy” and priorities announced by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin and Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Chris Wright emphasize the same principles: cutting energy costs, pursuing an “all of the above” strategy for American energy abundance, strengthening the nation’s electric grid, streamlining federal permitting processes, and fostering innovation in artificial intelligence (AI).

The House Bipartisan Task Force on AI released a December 2024 report underscoring that America's economic and national security depend heavily on a robust and modernized power grid. Our nation needs enough energy to meet growing electricity demands driven by AI, advanced manufacturing, electric vehicle adoption—and to power our buildings. US-DOE projects that data centers will consume up to 12 percent of U.S. electricity by 2028, primarily to meet AI and cloud computing needs.

The U.S. commercial real estate industry has a central role to play in achieving the country’s energy and economic goals. With energy demand surging, real estate is a critical partner to support energy investments, increase energy efficiency, and deliver energy savings across the economy.

Key Takeaways

Avoided energy use—or “nega-watts”—represents the most cost-efficient strategy for strengthening U.S. energy security. Building upgrades that reduce power demand save consumers money, support grid reliability, and free up energy use for more energy-intensive facilities like AI data centers and manufacturing.

Grid reliability is essential. With surging electricity demand from AI and other key sectors, it is crucial to expand grid capacity and invest in long-distance transmission. Federal permitting reform is critical to speed up energy infrastructure projects.

RER supports a national “all of the above” energy strategy that invests in building efficiency, grid modernization, faster permitting, and innovation across all energy sources.

See the full fact sheet.

Summary

Regulations in the U.S. and abroad seek to require companies to publicly disclose climate-related risks on their finances, operations, and assets. Some of these rules are proving more durable than others. While the Trump administration has rescinded Biden-era federal climate disclosure rules from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), state governments and international regulators are advancing reporting regimes that could have major implications for U.S. real estate companies.

Key Takeaways

Scope 3 emissions—such as tenant energy use or embodied carbon in building materials—are not under the direct control of real estate owners and should remain voluntary.

The SEC’s climate disclosure rule is on hold and not expected to advance during the current administration.

California’s climate disclosure laws (S.B. 253 and S.B. 261) will begin taking effect in 2026, requiring large companies doing business in California to report emissions and climate-related financial risks.

The European Union has postponed compliance dates for its Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and has narrowed its scope substantially. In February 2025, the European Commission adopted a package to apply the CSRD only to the largest companies (more than 1000 employees), and to lessen Scope 3 reporting requirements on emissions from smaller companies in a reporting company’s value chain. Large U.S. companies with EU operations may still face disclosure requirements when the CSRD goes into full effect.

See the full fact sheet.

Summary

The Trump administration and congressional Republicans are committed to major tax code reform. Elimination and phase-down of Biden-era clean energy tax credits, signed into law in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA), will likely be achieved by the Republican majority.

For a description of the Biden-era IRA energy tax incentives important to commercial real estate, see RER’s fact sheet here. For a description of the changes to IRA clean energy incentives proposed in the House Republican bill marked up by the Ways & Means Committee on May 14, 2025, see RER’s fact sheet here. The situation is very much in flux. It is unclear which, if any, IRA tax incentives survive current tax reform discussions taking place in the spring-summer of 2025.

As long-term investment decisions are being made and real estate projects are already underway, uncertainty around the future of these tax incentives poses significant risks. RER encourages that any potential phase-down of IRA energy incentives take place over a number of years. Existing projects that have begun construction and are relying on these credits must be permitted to continue using them until the projects are completed.

Key Takeaways

Tax incentives that are most used and best promote an “all of the above” energy strategy should be preserved. Several IRA provisions directly benefit commercial and multifamily buildings—including incentives for retrofits, solar and battery systems, and residential construction.

Reports show that repealing the IRA could result in nearly 790,000 job losses, decrease GDP by more than $160 billion in 2030, and increase consumer energy costs by $6 billion annually by 2030.

Many of the most impactful clean energy investments are occurring in Republican-held districts—79 percent of current clean power capacity and 77 percent of new additions are located in GOP districts.

See the full fact sheet.

Summary

The federal ENERGY STAR program must be preserved as a voluntary, non-regulatory public-private partnership. Proposed budget cuts and agency staff reorganizations from the Trump administration indicate that it may eliminate the program. Commercial, residential, and manufacturing stakeholders all rely on the program heavily and are united in advocating for its preservation.

Meanwhile, a number of progressive cities and states (map) have enacted building performance standards (BPS) mandates—with widely varying rules on emissions, electrification, and compliance timelines. The regulatory specifics vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction—making compliance exceedingly complex and expensive. To help bring consistency to the nationwide “patchwork” of BPS regulations, RER has developed a peer-reviewed policy guide outlining 20 key considerations for any jurisdiction adopting a BPS law.

In addition, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have developed their own BPS-type standards and climate accounting frameworks—chief among them the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) and the World Resources Institute’s Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol. These NGO standards increasingly influence both regulatory policy and private capital markets. Many real estate lenders and equity investors have adopted SBTi and GHG Protocol frameworks to align with their ESG investment principles.

Key Takeaways

• Voluntary, non-regulatory federal guidelines like ENERGY STAR recognizing “high performance” real estate remain critical. These programs help quantify energy savings, attract capital, place less strain on the grid, and promote innovation in U.S. buildings.
• More than 330,000 buildings—representing nearly 25 percent of U.S. commercial building floor space—utilized EPA’s Portfolio Manager software last year.
• ENERGY STAR-certified buildings achieve an average of 35 percent less energy usage compared to similar non-certified buildings. The program has saved businesses and families nearly $200 billion in utility bills since 1992, including $14 billion in 2024 alone
• States and cities are adopting BPS mandates that often impose rigid electrification or net zero emissions targets. These laws vary significantly and frequently penalize buildings already recognized as high-performance assets under federal programs.
  
  

See the full fact sheet.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR for Certification for Buildings program is a proven platform for building owners and managers to “label” their assets as top energy efficiency performers in the marketplace.

Investors, tenants, and employees seek buildings and workplaces with ENERGY STAR ratings because they signal well-managed, profitable assets with reduced carbon footprints. 

Summary

More than $950 billion of U.S. commercial real estate mortgages are estimated to mature in 2025. To help rebalance the wave of maturing loans, it is important to advance measures that will encourage additional capital formation and loan restructuring.

• As urged by RER, a policy statement—Policy Statement on Prudent Commercial Real Estate Loan Accommodations and Workouts—issued by regulatory agencies encouraging financial institutions to work constructively with creditworthy borrowers on CRE loan workouts is helping to see loans through the current environment.
• Many of these loans require additional equity, and borrowers still need time to restructure this debt. 
• Capital formation is vital to help restructure maturing debt and fill the equity gap.

It is also important to avoid pro-cyclical regulatory actions such as the Basel III Endgame.

A revised Basel III Endgame proposal announced in September 2024 would have increased Tier 1 capital requirements for global systemically important banks by roughly 9 percent. Concerns remain that any increase in capital requirements will have a pro-cyclical impact on credit capacity and carry a cost to commercial real estate and the overall economy, increasing the cost of credit and constraining capacity. 

In a January 2024 letter, RER raised industry concerns about the negative impact of the Basel III Endgame proposal, including the higher cost of credit and diminished lending capacity, and requested that the proposal be withdrawn.

The Fed and other regulators remain deadlocked on advancing the revised proposal. With the appointment of Michelle Bowman to the post of Vice Chair for Supervision, however, there is speculation that the proposal could ultimately be withdrawn or end up being capital neutral.

Key Takeaways

• Providing banks with the flexibility to work constructively with their borrowers during times of economic stress has led to billions of dollars of loan restructurings and reduced undue stress in bank loan portfolios.
• The proposed Basel III Endgame regulationswould come at a significant economic cost without clear benefits to the economy.
• The largest U.S. banks’ capital and liquidity levels have grown dramatically since the original Basel III standards were implemented in 2013 in response to the 2008 Global Financial Crisis. Since 2009, Tier 1 capital has increased by 56 percent and Common Equity Tier 1 capital has tripled. Today, as the Federal Reserve recently observed, the U.S. “banking system is sound and resilient, with strong capital and liquidity.”[1]
• Further, it is important to bring more foreign capital into U.S. real estate by lifting legal barriers to investment, as well as repealing or reforming the archaic Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act (FIRPTA).
  
  

See the full fact sheet.

Summary

The proliferation of natural catastrophe threats has raised concerns about commercial insurance coverage for real estate. These concerns have highlighted the lack of—and need for—insurance capacity and various lines of commercial insurance. Risks from natural disasters like floods, hurricanes, wildfires, hail, tornadoes and drought cost the U.S. billions of dollars each year. Even if policyholders are able to find coverage for these various lines, prices are increasing dramatically. A lack of adequate coverage will lead to economic uncertainty, harm stakeholders, and undermine the growth of communities.   

The budget debate in Congress has called into question the future of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which is subject to temporary funding extensions and must be reauthorized by September 30, 2025.

RER, along with its industry partners, continues to work constructively with policymakers and stakeholders to address market failure and enact a long-term reauthorization of an improved NFIP.

Key Takeaways

• The increased frequency and severity of natural disasters is leading to increased premiums for commercial properties.
• As economic losses caused by disasters increase, it is important to find new strategies in order to effectively manage natural catastrophe risk. 
• Expanding coverage gaps and increased costs present challenges for businesses across many industries, including real estate.
• Without adequate coverage, the vast majority of natural catastrophe losses are likely to be absorbed by policyholders. These widening coverage gaps and price hikes bring about serious economic concerns about protection gaps, coverage capacity, and increased costs from natural catastrophes and business interruption losses.
• Commercial property owners can take steps to mitigate the risk of natural disasters and potentially lower their insurance costs.

See the full fact sheet.

Summary

Under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), many U.S. businesses are required to disclose information on their “beneficial owners” under regulations issued (and to be issued) by the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).

The rule imposes heavier compliance burdens on real estate businesses with numerous legal entities that own and operate real property across all asset classes.

On March 2, 2025, the Treasury Department announced it would suspend enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) against U.S. citizens and domestic reporting companies, including beneficial ownership information reporting requirements, citing a move to reduce regulatory burden and focus on foreign entities. The Treasury Department will further be issuing a proposed rulemaking that will narrow the scope of the rule to foreign reporting companies only.

RER continues to track this important issue and plans to comment on the proposed rulemaking after it is released.

Key Takeaways

• While the CTA and its implementing regulations are not specifically targeted to real estate businesses, it will have a direct impact on the industry.
• Certain types of entities will be exempt from the reporting requirements; however, these exemptions will not apply to many typical real estate limited liability companies and partnerships formed to own and operate commercial properties. 
• There is significant concern about the CTA’s far-reaching scope and its impact on many commercial and residential real estate businesses that use the LLC structure for conducting business.

See the full fact sheet.

Summary

In 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed changes to require SEC-registered investment advisers to put all their clients’ assets, including all digital assets like Bitcoin and certain physical assets like real estate, with “qualified custodians.” The proposal would also require a written agreement between custodians and advisers, expand the “surprise examination” requirements, and enhance recordkeeping rules. These rules were originally designed for digital assets. “Reasonable” safeguarding requirements is ambiguous as applied to real estate. Furthermore, the SEC’s release contains an inaccuracy regarding the way deeds evidencing ownership of real estate are recorded.

RER sees no policy reason to impose the proposed rule on real estate and has advocated for an exception for real estate.

Key Takeaways

• Due to a variety of factors, real estate cannot readily be stolen, making the rule seem irrelevant to this asset class. 
• In addition to the proposed Custody Rule, the SEC has a number of proposed rulemaking measures that could have a chilling effect on real estate capital markets, further impair liquidity, and be a “death by a thousand cuts” for commercial real estate. 
• Capital formation is vital when credit markets tighten to restructure maturing debt.  

See the full fact sheet.

Summary

The U.S. faces a strategic imperative to modernize its immigration system in a way that strengthens the domestic labor force and unleashes private capital for economic growth. The push for immigration reforms has prompted renewed interest in investor programs like the EB-5 Visa and the proposed “Gold Card” concept. Both programs can attract high net-worth individuals who can contribute to America’s economy.

Key Takeaways

• The Gold Card ideas sketched by the Trump administration would help reduce the national deficit. Individuals would pay $5 million to receive legal residency status with a path to citizenship.
• The EB-5 program has delivered $350 billion in economic impact and created over 1.5 million American jobs—at no cost to taxpayers.
• EB-5 investment can help finance housing, grid modernization, and manufacturing plants to further recent executive orders and national priorities.
• The Gold Card program can be supercharged and its deployment accelerated by supplementing the existing EB-5 program that uses private investments to create jobs for American workers.

See the full fact sheet.

Summary

The rising incidence of violent crime, organized retail crime, civil unrest, cyber-attacks, artificial intelligence (AI), and the renewed threat of terrorism have prompted increased vigilance, information sharing, and legislative efforts to improve our nation’s resilience. The proliferation of these threats has raised concerns in the commercial facilities sector about how to protect commercial properties and the people who occupy them from such threats.

In addition to the challenges posed by these threats, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, conflict in the Middle East, and rising tensions in Asia have raised security concerns about the increased incidence of cyber-attacks from the Russian Federation, the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Iran, North Korea, and other state actors.

The real estate industry, in partnership with policymakers and law enforcement officials, must remain vigilant to potential threats to our critical infrastructure from cyber or physical threats.

Key Takeaways

Recent high-profile hacking attacks have brought to the fore the necessity of fortifying the nation’s IT infrastructure against cyber-attacks. Additionally, there are growing concerns about AI having the potential to create new risks. Key concerns include the risk of cyberattacks exploiting AI vulnerabilities, leading to unauthorized access to facilities or sensitive data.

RER continues to promote security measures against both physical and cyber threats by facilitating increased information sharing and cooperation among its membership with key law enforcement and intelligence agencies, including as part of RER’s Homeland Security Task Force and Real Estate Information Sharing and Analysis Center (RE-ISAC).

Policymakers should avoid imposing duplicative and inconsistent regulations that create additional challenges for those tasked with defending the nation’s critical infrastructure, including the commercial facilities (CF) sector, and undermine cyber preparedness.

See the full fact sheet.

The Real Estate Roundtable's Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) is focused on enhancing the commercial facilities sector's ability to meet its current and future security-related challenges by analyzing threats, sharing information, and fostering resilience through a broad threat matrix of physical and cyber risks.

The Real Estate Information Sharing and Analysis Center (RE-ISAC) is a public-private partnership between the U.S. commercial facilities sector and federal homeland security officials. It is the primary conduit of terrorism, cyber, and natural hazard warning and response information between the government and the commercial facilities sector. 

Through this network, the RE-ISAC engages in operational efforts to coordinate activities supporting the detection, prevention, and mitigation of a full range of physical, data, and cyber threats to the nation’s critical infrastructure.

Summary

There is a chronic shortage of housing in the U.S. that is driving up housing prices and making it more difficult for lower-income individuals to find safe, affordable housing. Housing production in the U.S. is not keeping pace with expanding housing needs. The underbuilding gap in the U.S. now totals more than 5.5 million housing units. The impact of this growing problem of an under-supply of affordable housing is far-reaching and undermines economic growth—particularly in urban areas.

Key Takeaways

Safe, decent, and affordable housing is critical to the well-being of America’s families, communities, and businesses. The COVID-19 pandemic intensified the nation’s persistent housing crisis and heightened the need to expand the supply of affordable housing.

Having a robust housing finance system is critical to meeting the nation’s longstanding goal of ensuring decent and affordable housing for all. Debate over reforms to the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) continues, but no legislative proposals are currently under consideration.

Confronting the housing crisis requires a national transformation in housing policy, including a strategic plan to expand the supply of affordable housing.

Policymakers should look at the full scope of tools available to bridge the underbuilding gap as part of this national strategy, including:

• Yes In My Backyard (YIMBY) policies;

• Property conversion incentives;

• Reforms to zoning and permitting rules;

• Reforms to the GSEs that continue to protect financial stability and access to affordable mortgages;

• Extending and improving Opportunity Zones (OZs);

• Enacting the Housing Affordability Act; and

• Expanding the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC).

RER has partnered with 16 other national real estate organizations to jointly advocate for policies that will help to increase housing supplies, grow jobs, and modernize our nation’s critical infrastructure.

See the full fact sheet.

Summary

The U.S. faces a severe shortage of affordable housing. Current production has just not kept up with demand. At the same time, certain other commercial real estate assets like office buildings are under significant stress due to pandemic-related issues, including employers’ greater reliance on remote work arrangements. RER is encouraging lawmakers to help revitalize cities, boost local tax bases, and address housing challenges by enacting a tax incentive and federal loan support for converting older, underutilized buildings to housing. RER also supports a meaningful expansion of the low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC).

Key Takeaways

The LIHTC is an efficient, market-based housing solution that relies on the private sector to finance, build, and operate affordable housing by creating a federal incentive for new construction and redevelopment.

Congress should help expand and grow the supply of affordable and workforce housing by investing greater resources in time-tested tax incentives like the LIHTC and adopting creative new approaches that support the conversion of underutilized, existing buildings to housing.

The conversion of underutilized and often vacant buildings offers a tremendous opportunity to improve the built environment and lift the surrounding locality. Property conversions are a cost-effective means to develop new housing supply, create jobs, and generate critical sources of local property tax revenue.

See the full fact sheet.

Summary

In response to the Global Financial Crisis in September 2008, the U.S. Treasury placed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into conservatorship under the oversight of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). This action was intended to stabilize the mortgage market and restore confidence in the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs). It also involved an injection of $190 billion of capital, while creating an explicit U.S. government guarantee. The ongoing conservatorship means that the government has total control over these huge government-backed mortgage enterprises, with $7.7 trillion in combined assets.

Conservatorship was not meant to be indefinite. More than 17 years later, the GSEs are in a much stronger financial position and have repaid the $187 billion used to preserve Fannie and Freddie during the financial crisis. Yet, retiring the government’s preferred and common equity stake would require a refinancing of massive scale, a taxpayer gift from the U.S. Treasury of tens of billions of dollars to Fannie and Freddie, or both.

Policymakers have increasingly discussed various reform proposals, including ending the conservatorship, full privatization, hybrid models, and continued government backing with additional safeguards.

As policymakers consider privatization or structural reforms, it is essential to the real estate industry and the broader economy to preserve a well-functioning housing finance system that supports homeownership, expands affordable housing supply, and sustains economic growth.

Key Takeaways

GSE reform will involve transitioning these government-sponsored enterprises to private entities, which necessitates significant recapitalization, potentially through an Initial Public Offering (IPO), to meet regulatory capital requirements and address outstanding liabilities.

As a practical matter, it will be challenging for Fannie and Freddie to exit conservatorship and remain effective in the marketplace without a government guarantee. Determining the cost of this guarantee is one of the key challenges of reform.

An explicit guarantee, similar to Ginnie Mae, might be one solution, but this would likely require an act of Congress and a fee paid to the Treasury for assuming the risk. This could increase costs for underlying borrowers.

If Fannie and Freddie are transitioned to private ownership, the process must ensure financial stability, avoid market disruptions, and protect access to affordable mortgages.

Reforms to the GSEs should be part of a larger national transformation in housing policy to unleash a wave of new housing construction and fully address the underbuilding gap, including Yes In My Backyard (YIMBY) policies, property conversion incentives and reforms to zoning and permitting rules, Opportunity Zones, and the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC).

See the full fact sheet.

A federal "YES In My Backyard" (YIMBY) approach when awarding grants to states and municipalities is needed to counter local “Not In My Backyard” (NIMBY) policies that drive up costs and create barriers to the development of affordable housing. A YIMBY approach is also needed to counter burdensome and duplicative federal government reviews that are necessary to obtain real estate development and transportation permits.

Tax-exempt private-activity bonds (PABs) are proven tools to mobilize public and private co-investment in affordable housing. States and cities use PABs to borrow on behalf of private companies and nonprofits, lowering borrowing costs for entities that might otherwise turn to corporate bonds or bank loans. Interest on PABs is not excluded from gross income unless it is a qualified bond, which must meet strict requirements and serve a public benefit—such as affordable rental housing or mortgage provisions for first-time lower-income borrowers.

The Biden administration recently announced federal actions to lower housing costs and boost the supply of affordable housing. As part of this government-wide effort, the General Services Administration (GSA) will identify and market surplus federal properties that represent the best opportunities for commercial-to-residential conversions. The GSA initiative will continue to convene developers, municipalities, and other stakeholders to learn about opportunities and challenges.