William Walker

Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer, Walker Dunlop

Search every verified William Walker interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. In a July 2026 keynote at Walker & Dunlop’s Summer Conference, William Walker discussed several economic and industry trends. He stated that $131 billion in data center projects were turned down by local municipalities in the first quarter of 2026, attributing the rejections to local opposition. Walker said this government pushback on AI and data centers is growing and will have a significant impact on the sector’s development. Walker also commented on the potential impact of autonomous vehicles on employment, asserting that the Teamsters union would intervene to protect the jobs of six million truck drivers before those jobs are eliminated. He addressed the cyclical nature of commercial real estate, the resilience of the labor market, and the role of interest rates in the potential privatization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, stating that privatization is unlikely as long as single-family borrowing costs remain above 6%.