In a market shaped by uncertainty around interest rates, inflation, energy prices, and broader economic forces, Wellings Capital’s Q1 2026 commentary focuses on what we can control: disciplined asset management. Ben Kahle shares how the team strengthened its systems, reporting processes, on-site review cadence, and sponsor oversight during the quarter to better monitor investments, identify issues earlier, and steward investor capital with greater care.

If you follow the headlines and investor sentiment, commercial real estate still seems gloomy. Higher rates linger. Office struggles dominate the news. Recession fears refuse to die quietly.

I’m (Paul) flying back from a commercial real estate mastermind in Scottsdale. After spending three days with two dozen seasoned CRE operators, I’m grateful for the bullets we’ve dodged and mindful of the pain many investors still face across U.S. CRE. Our north star remains the same

As mentioned in the Q1 2025 commentary posted on this blog, we plan to post every future quarterly commentary here. In the past, we shared the market commentaries with only our investors in our quarterly reports.

This is the second time we’re offering publicly posting one of our quarterly commentaries. In the past, we shared the market commentaries with only our investors in our quarterly reports. Going forward, we will post the quarterly commentaries on this blog.

It's the elephant in the room in many conversations now. The question about interest rate increases comes from new investor prospects, seasoned Wellings Capital investors, and colleagues at masterminds and cocktail parties.

In two previous blog articles, I made a lot of noise about inflation. In the first post, I talked about how to grow wealth through real estate investing in this historically unique time of low interest rates and increasing inflation. In the second post, I discussed some specific ways to implement this wealth-building strategy. But that’s not all.

“Isn’t self-storage overbuilt?”

YES!

I get this question from investors and prospective investors all the time. And I often say “Yes” in reply. So, their next question should be obvious:

“Ummm…so why do you invest tens of millions in it?”

Can you invest in real estate with your IRA or 401(k)?

YES! Well…maybe.

This question turns on the word “you.” Because I can confidently tell you the answer completely depends on “you.”

Here’s what I mean. The tax code definitely allows you to make these investments. But many investors, through ignorance of the tax code, don’t take advantage of this opportunity.

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

Nothing happens when Elon Musk tweets a broken heart emoji.

Or a diamond hands emoji.

Or any other emoji.

If you’re a commercial real estate investor that is.