What happens when a developer goes head-to-head with California’s most powerful cities, unions, and politicians?

In this episode of The Group CRE, Taylor Avakian sits down with Leo Pustilnikov — one of the most controversial and influential developers in California’s housing landscape. Leo has become a central figure in the statewide housing reform battle, pushing projects forward using tools like the Builder’s Remedy, SB 9, SB 35, Density Bonus Law, and other pro-housing policies that force cities to comply with state law.

Leo breaks down the political fights behind the scenes, how cities illegally block projects, what developers must understand about CEQA and entitlement strategy, and why California’s housing shortage is by design. This episode dives deep into corruption, NIMBY power, union pressure, lawsuits, and the future of LA housing — straight from someone who has been in the center of it.

You’ll learn:

- Why California cities block housing and how state law overrides them

- How the Builder’s Remedy actually works (and why it’s so powerful)

- The truth behind local corruption, CEQA abuse, and political retaliation

- Why small and mid-sized developers abandon California

- How Leo navigates union pressure, lawsuits, and city pushback

- What it will take for California to ever meet housing demand

- How to survive entitlement warfare and regulatory resistance

Sponsor — Loan Titan

Upscale your experience with

https://loantitan.com/

Connect with Taylor

Newsletter: https://www.thegroupcre.com/newsletter-signup

Instagram: https://instagram.com/tayloravakian

Twitter: https://twitter.com/tayloravakian

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tayloravakian/

Connect with Leo Pustilnikov

Subscribe and Stay Ahead! Stay informed and empowered in the multifamily real estate market. Subscribe to the channel for exclusive insights, rental updates, and expert analyses on the Los Angeles market.

🔔 Don’t miss out on the latest trends and tips to maximize your property's potential: https://www.youtube.com/c/TaylorAvakian

#TheGroupCRE #LeoPustilnikov #CaliforniaHousingCrisis #BuildersRemedy #CEQA #RealEstateDevelopment #NIMBY #HousingReform #CommercialRealEstate #TaylorAvakian #MultifamilyDevelopment #PolicyReform

In this episode of The Group CRE, Taylor Avakian sits down with Luke Morris — Co-Founder of CREXi and Founder of Capitalize.io — to break down how AI is transforming commercial real estate from the inside out. Luke shares the early days of CREXi, how he helped reshape CRE workflow at scale, and why he’s now focused on the next evolution of AI-powered tools for brokers, operators, and investors.

From automating research to accelerating deal flow, Luke explains the problems he saw firsthand while building CREXi — and the AI solutions modern CRE professionals will rely on in the next decade.

If you want to understand the future of real estate tech, the next wave of automation, and the mindset of a founder who helped build one of the most impactful CRE platforms ever created, this episode is a must-watch.

You’ll learn:

- How Luke co-founded CREXi and changed CRE deal flow forever

- The biggest inefficiencies he discovered while building a marketplace

- Where AI is already outperforming traditional CRE workflows

- How automation supports brokers, researchers, and analysts

- Why PropTech adoption is accelerating faster than ever

- What the next generation of CRE software will look like

- How founders think about scaling tools for a legacy industry

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🔗 Links

Sponsor — Loan Titan

Upscale your experience with

https://loantitan.com/

Connect with Taylor

Newsletter: https://www.thegroupcre.com/newsletter-signup

Instagram: https://instagram.com/tayloravakian

Twitter: https://twitter.com/tayloravakian

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tayloravakian/

Connect with Luke Morris

Subscribe and Stay Ahead! Stay informed and empowered in the multifamily real estate market. Subscribe to the channel for exclusive insights, rental updates, and expert analyses on the Los Angeles market.

🔔 Don’t miss out on the latest trends and tips to maximize your property's potential: https://www.youtube.com/c/TaylorAvakian

#LukeMorris #CREXi #TheGroupCRE #PropTech #LoanTitan #CommercialRealEstate #RealEstateTech #CREBrokerage #AutomationTools #AIInBusiness #CREMarketplace #TaylorAvakian

In this episode, we sit down with Daniel Nagel — CIO & CFO of Decron Properties — to unpack how a multigenerational real estate family built a 10,000-unit empire over 70+ years and why they’re now pivoting billions OUT of California into growth markets like Phoenix & Austin.

Daniel shares his grandfather’s Holocaust-to-developer story, the philosophy behind surviving every market cycle since 1956, what institutional investors really look for, and how to build an investment platform that lasts generations.

If you're serious about multifamily investing, family offices, long-term real estate strategy, and institutional-grade deal thinking — this episode is a masterclass.

🎯 Key Takeaways

- Immigrant perseverance → building a $B real estate legacy

- Why Decron shifted from homebuilding to multifamily

- Surviving recessions & maintaining lender relationships

- California exit strategy: regulation, taxes, and rent control impact

- Why core & core-plus outperform value-add in today’s market

- The pivot to institutional capital & what IRR really means

- How to scale across markets without losing your edge

- Tech, AI, and modern CRE skill-sets for the next 10 years

🔗 Links

Sponsor: AI for CRE Collective – transforming real-estate workflows with AI

https://www.aiforcrecollective.com

Connect With Daniel:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nageldaniel/ (Decron Properties)

Connect With Taylor

📩 Newsletter: https://www.thegroupcre.com

📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tayloravakian

🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/tayloravakian

Subscribe and Stay Ahead! Stay informed and empowered in the multifamily real estate market. Subscribe to the channel for exclusive insights, rental updates, and expert analyses on the Los Angeles market.

🔔 Don’t miss out on the latest trends and tips to maximize your property's potential: https://www.youtube.com/c/TaylorAvakian

#RealEstateInvesting #MultifamilyInvesting #InstitutionalRealEstate #FamilyOffice #CaliforniaRealEstate #SunbeltInvesting #CommercialRealEstate #RealEstateStrategy #HousingMarket #Development #WealthBuilding #AIinRealEstate