Deconstruct

The multifamily syndicator boom promised everyday investors a piece of the real estate gold rush. Then interest rates rose — and some of the biggest players began to unravel. This week on Deconstruct, The Real Deal’s Texas Bureau Chief Jess Hardin joins Hannah Kramer and Lilah Burke to explain the rise and fall of S2 Capital and its founder, Scott Everett. Once one of the fastest-growing private companies in the country, S2 amassed a massive apartment portfolio as Everett became one of the most recognizable figures of the real estate syndication boom. Now, investors have seen equity wiped out, properties have faced foreclosure and S2 has pursued a series of increasingly complicated strategies to keep parts of its portfolio alive. Jess takes us inside the financial fallout — and describes what she found when she visited an S2 apartment complex in Dallas. Plus, Hannah and Lilah discuss the still-unopened Chobani House in Manhattan, the Ritz-Carlton residences coming to Brooklyn Heights, the Trump Organization’s latest international branding deal and the approaching sentencing of the Alexander brothers.

New York’s luxury rental market is reaching astonishing new heights. SERHANT broker Peter Zaitzeff joins Deconstruct to explain who is paying as much as $150,000 a month for homes in Brooklyn and Manhattan, why tech and finance wealth is fueling demand, and how the city’s severe inventory shortage could push rents even higher. Zaitzeff also argues that the luxury market does not exist in isolation: Record-breaking deals at the top can influence asking rents across the city, making an already expensive housing market even less affordable. Later in the episode, hosts Hannah Kramer and Lilah Burke examine dramatic new depositions from developers Meyer and Joseph Chetrit, who are facing more than $160 million in personal judgments. The testimony depicts a real estate empire that has run out of money — although lenders may question whether the brothers are overstating their financial distress. Plus, Florida considers a proposal that could eventually eliminate property taxes for homesteaded homes, and former New York governor Eliot Spitzer gets approval to advance his Fifth Avenue condo project after suing the state.

Data centers have quickly become one of commercial real estate’s hottest — and most capital-intensive — asset classes. This week, Hannah Kramer and Lilah Burke talk with Colliers data center expert Raul Saavedra about what’s driving the boom, how AI has accelerated demand and why the scale of new projects is creating major challenges around power, financing and community opposition. Saavedra takes us inside the increasingly complicated process of getting a data center deal done, as campuses grow from tens of megawatts to hundreds and project costs climb from millions into the billions. Then, Hannah and Lilah dig into some of the biggest real estate stories of the week: Compass’ push to pull listings from StreetEasy and embrace private marketing, S2 Capital founder Scott Everett’s latest effort to keep his multifamily empire alive, and the transformation of Hollywood real estate as studios, landlords and developers chase the $70 billion creator economy.

A massive fraud case at one of Florida’s largest homeowners associations exposed just how vulnerable HOAs can be to bad actors. On this episode of Deconstruct, The Real Deal’s Hannah Kramer and Lilah Burke talk with South Florida reporter Lidia Dinkova about the scandal at the Hammocks, a sprawling Miami-Dade community with more than 18,000 residents. Prosecutors accused former board members of diverting roughly $2 million through bogus vendors and kickbacks, while residents say they spent years trying to sound the alarm. The case ultimately helped spur sweeping changes to Florida’s HOA laws — but experts and residents say fraud remains a serious problem. Plus, Hannah breaks down the long-running battle over Manhattan’s Elizabeth Street Garden and what its preservation means for New York City’s struggle to build affordable housing. The hosts also look at which real estate heavyweights are putting money behind candidates in California’s governor’s race, New York City’s latest record rents and a bizarre Miami lawsuit involving a 100-year-old oak tree, a spec home developer and allegedly forged signatures.

Consumers need to trust their real estate agents — but as more agents work the market than ever before, stories of bad behavior ranging from unfair dealmaking to sexual harrasment abound. In this episode of Deconstruct, Compass agent and American Real Estate Association (ARA) founder Jason Haber joins Lilah Burke and Hannah Kramer of The Real Deal to break down what’s broken in residential brokerage and how to fix it. We get into: Why there are 5 million agents chasing fewer than 3 million deals a year How low licensing standards and part-time agents hurt consumers and the industry’s reputation Jason’s early pushback against Kenny Purcell and the National Association of Realtors (NAR) over sexual harassment and abuse Why self-regulation has failed, and what smarter state licensing and renewal rules should look like The debate over private listings, NAR’s Clear Cooperation vs ARA’s Clear Collaboration policy How industry consolidation (including at Compass) affects small brokerages and consumer trust What political and policy changes could actually make housing more affordable in New York and beyond In the second half of the episode, we turn to two huge real estate stories: The rise and unraveling of Joseph Makhani’s $83M deed theft empire in New York The political and PR mess created by the pied-à-terre tax rollout The collapse of Simad Holdings’ $200M summer camp empire, DOJ investigations, and what it means for bondholders and beloved camps If you work in residential brokerage, follow housing policy, or just want to understand why trust in real estate is so low — and what real reform could look like — this episode is for you. Listen to Deconstruct from The Real Deal every Monday for deep dives on real estate, politics, and power.