Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. What if the global geopolitical churn is actually creating opportunities to realign your portfolio?
In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, powered by First National, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk are joined by Eric Carlson, Core-Founder and CEO of Anthem Properties Group Ltd., to unpack over four decades of real estate investing. Eric shares hard-earned lessons on surviving market cycles, emphasizing cash preservation as the foundation of long-term success. He contrasts “farming” versus “hunting” strategies, advocating steady, disciplined growth over risky market timing.
The conversation dives into how government policy, not supply, drives housing unaffordability, and how volatile immigration trends distort development economics. Eric also explores growing uncertainty around regulation and property rights, arguing that clarity and consistency in policy are now the most critical factors shaping real estate investment decisions.
What you will learn:
- How to build a real estate empire from nothing
- Why diversification across classes and geographies protects you from market cycles
- The real driver of housing unaffordability is policy, not scarcity
- How immigration policy created a demand shock that distorted market fundamentals
- Why “farming beats hunting” in real estate
- How uncertainty around indigenous title and reconciliation creates investment paralysis
Eric Carlson is the Core-Founder and CEO of Anthem Properties, a diversified real estate development and investment firm operating across Canada and select U.S. markets. With over four decades of experience in commercial real estate, spanning apartment syndication, retail, industrial, residential, and master-planned communities, Eric has established himself as a vocal industry leader and strategic thinker. His expertise encompasses real estate development, asset management, and capital allocation across multiple asset classes and geographies.
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