We’re back for the first episode of the year, and instead of pretending we have crystal-clear answers for 2026, we do what we do best: zoom out, look at the data, and call out what actually feels different this time.

2025 was loud, messy, and very AI-heavy, so we start there, breaking down why this so-called “AI bubble” isn’t behaving like past tech cycles. This isn’t just software hype. It’s physical infrastructure, energy, data centers, and real adoption finally showing up in the numbers.

The “office is dead” narrative continues to fall apart, just not evenly. Leasing is back in a big way in places like New York, Boston, and even San Francisco, but the gap between winners and losers has never been wider. Experiential, flexible, high-quality workplaces are pulling ahead, while everything else keeps sliding. We talk through why the old Class A, B, and C labels are starting to feel useless, and why the office is quickly becoming less about square footage and more about experience.

We wrap things up by playing a little bull-or-bear across asset classes, markets, and cities, where we’re bullish, where we’re cautious, and where we’re honestly just waiting to see how things play out. Along the way, we hit data centers, housing affordability, late-stage SaaS, capital finally coming off the sidelines, and a few city calls that spark some pushback. It’s a loose but grounded start to the year, focused less on dramatic predictions and more on how AI, office, and capital are quietly lining up as the next cycle takes shape.