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Mortgage rates rose because a monthly consumer price index report came in hotter than expected, showing broad upward pressure on prices beyond fuel-related costs. Matthew Graham, chief operating officer at Mortgage News Daily, said the Federal Reserve had explicitly stated it was more focused on inflation than full employment at the moment, making the inflation data carry significant weight.
The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage rose to 7.30% on Tuesday, according to Mortgage News Daily. That followed four consecutive weeks of declines that had brought the weekly average down to 7.21%, the lowest rate since mid-September, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
During the four-week period of declining rates, mortgage applications rose 6.2% week over week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Purchase applications increased 8% for the week, and refinance applications rose 5% from the prior week, though refinance volume remained 57% lower than the same week one year ago.
Joel Kan, vice president and deputy chief economist at the Mortgage Bankers Association, said the FHA rate was back below 7% and was more than 20 basis points lower than the conforming rate during the prior week's easing, which helped first-time home buyers. FHA and VA purchase applications saw particularly strong growth over that week.
Executives at Bisnow's Central Texas Mega-Metro Summit cited three main obstacles: limited access to utilities, particularly water, driven by drought and rapid population growth; lengthy entitlement processes across multiple jurisdictions; and tighter financing conditions where both equity and debt have become more conservative, according to speakers from Palladius Capital Management, Wilson Capital, and Quannah Partners.
East of I-35, parts of Travis County could face an annual water shortage of about 5 billion gallons by 2080, according to the source. Michael Lee of Wilson Capital said water is becoming harder to secure and more expensive to reserve upfront, and Jeff Stringer of Quannah Partners said building miles from existing utilities could delay construction by one to two years.
A 100-acre mixed-use project called Kyle Park, featuring multifamily housing, restaurants, retail, Dick's Sporting Goods, and Barnes & Noble, has a first phase expected to be complete by late 2027 on a five-year timeline. A separate $65M, 72-acre mixed-use development called Schertz Station, which will include Home Depot and Cava, has been in the works for at least two years.
Michael Lee of Wilson Capital said the entitlement stage is where many I-35 projects lose momentum, particularly those spanning multiple locales. Lee said one project faces five or six review jurisdictions, and that redesign loops, pricing revisions, and plan changes cause projects to take a very long time, adding that delivered projects are 'definitely not on time.'
Stuart Hepler of Palladius Capital Management said there is often 'a disconnect between what borrowers or developers are looking for and what capital providers are willing to provide.' Michael Lee of Wilson Capital said it is 'much more difficult to finance a project' in today's market, stating that both equity and debt have become more conservative.
According to the Federal Reserve's October SLOOS, banks tightened lending standards across all major CRE categories in the third quarter, specifically construction and land development, nonfarm nonresidential properties, and multifamily properties. Banks also reported weakening demand for loans in all CRE categories.
Yes. According to the Federal Reserve's October SLOOS, U.S. banks are tightening credit standards for nonbank financial firms including private equity funds and business and mortgage credit intermediaries. Lenders cited prevailing economic uncertainty and concerns over deteriorating financial strength among nonbank financial institution borrowers as key reasons.
According to the Federal Reserve's October SLOOS, commercial and industrial lending to large and middle-market firms was broadly unchanged from the previous survey, but banks tightened lending standards for smaller businesses. Banks also reported tightening standards for premiums charged on riskier loans for firms of all sizes, citing a less favorable or more uncertain economic outlook and worsening industry-specific problems.
According to the Federal Reserve's October SLOOS, banks left mortgage standards broadly unchanged but eased standards for jumbo mortgages while tightening rules for subprime loans. Banks reported being more likely to approve credit card applications to super-prime and prime borrowers and less likely to approve applications to subprime borrowers, with small banks driving the subprime tightening trend.
The Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances, released October 9, found that the percentage of families behind on loan payments at the end of 2025 reached almost 20%, up from about 12% in the previous survey conducted in 2022.
Scott Warren specializes in commercial investment properties, multifamily housing, and industrial real estate, according to the source. His completed transactions span multifamily and student housing, industrial facilities, office buildings, retail properties, and complex portfolios, with the firm serving markets across Upstate New York and Northeastern Pennsylvania.
SVN Innovative Commercial Advisors combines both conventional and auction sale strategies, according to the source. Warren applies a proprietary commercial real estate marketing system that includes property positioning, targeted campaigns, direct investor outreach, and national distribution, designed to reach qualified buyers and generate competition.
Scott Warren holds the CCIM designation and a Commercial Real Estate Certificate from Cornell University's eCornell program, according to the source. His professional recognition has included CoStar Power Broker and Crexi Platinum Broker awards.
According to Warren, changes in financing costs, insurance, property condition, and local regulation require closer analysis of what a property can realistically produce and what a buyer will need to invest. Warren said an increasingly important part of the firm's work is helping owners navigate more complex investment decisions in this environment.
Warren's career began in financial services in 1986 and progressed to a corporate executive position with Columbian Mutual Life Insurance Company, according to the source. He later co-founded a national marketing organization that operated in all 50 states and grew to more than 7,000 agents before its sale. Warren also holds an industrial engineering degree.
Jefferies Equity Research said Gina Hinojosa's election as governor and her plan for a development moratorium puts about 13 gigawatts of announced projects immediately at risk. Jefferies noted that 13 gigawatts is enough power to supply more than 10 million homes in Texas.
Hinojosa said she would impose a moratorium on new data centers until legislation is passed that ends tax incentives for data centers and protects household utility bills. She called on outgoing Governor Greg Abbott to put an immediate moratorium in place before the legislature could convene, and vowed to 'stop the data center takeover.'
Texas lost more than $1 billion in state sales tax revenue last year through an exemption for qualified data centers, according to state comptroller data. That figure is projected to increase 33% in the next five years and total close to $8 billion during that period, according to the same comptroller data.
Northmarq Managing Director Warren Hitchcock said smaller deals that are under the moratorium thresholds — former Governor Abbott's directive froze projects requesting 75 megawatts of power or more — are still seeing robust tenant and buyer interest. Projects that have already secured power and approvals with experienced sponsorship will be much easier to finance, Hitchcock said.
OpenAI and Oracle's $3.5 billion Stargate artificial intelligence data center campus in Abilene received an 85% tax break from the local government last year. In April of this year, Guadalupe County gave Cloudburst Data Centers a $500 million tax abatement for its $14.5 billion campus in central Texas.
Deloitte's survey of 950 CRE industry leaders shows the sentiment index declined for the second consecutive year, falling to 57.8 out of 100 for 2027, down from 64.9 in 2026 and 68.3 in 2025. Respondents plan to tighten spending in areas like office space and talent management and anticipate slower rent growth and elevated vacancies.
Yes. Despite the declining sentiment index, 51% of respondents in Deloitte's survey of 950 CRE industry leaders still expect revenues to grow more than 5%. Forty-one percent expect revenue growth between 5% and 10%, a higher proportion than in 2026, pushing the revenue sentiment index to 67.9, just below its 2025 record of 70.3.
Deloitte's survey of 950 CRE industry leaders found the top geographic targets for investment outside respondents' own countries are the United States, United Kingdom, and India. The United States is the top target for 28% of respondents, up from 16% the prior year. Transaction activity in continental Europe was down 10% year over year for the second quarter of 2026.
According to Bisnow, the Georgia Public Service Commission race is among the most consequential: two seats could give Democrats a board majority, potentially making it harder for Georgia Power to award large electrical contracts to data center users. That board oversees a nearly 20-gigawatt data center pipeline. Arizona's gubernatorial race will also shape data center approvals in a market with 160 facilities.
Florida's Amendment 3 would exempt up to $250K of home value from property taxes by 2028, versus the current $50K exemption, according to Bisnow. Critics say localities could lose millions of dollars, jeopardizing funding for hospitals, police, fire, parks and water management. South Florida developer and billionaire Jorge Pérez warned that a drastic cut to essential infrastructure funding could threaten Miami's ability to attract and retain residents.
According to Bisnow, Democratic incumbent Gov. Katie Hobbs signed a budget bill in June imposing a three-year freeze on new sales tax breaks for data centers but said a moratorium is not a way forward for the state. Republican challenger Andy Biggs has said local communities should have the final say on moratoriums. Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, also on the ballot, called for a statewide pause on data centers two months after Hobbs signed the freeze.
According to a Cushman & Wakefield release, Terra Industrial had previously been operating out of two facilities totaling more than 180,000 square feet, which presented operational inefficiencies and increased long-term occupancy costs. Terra Industrial consolidated those operations into the single 136,000-square-foot property at 1500 S. Raymond Ave. in Fullerton.
Cushman & Wakefield represented both sides of the transaction. Kevin Turner and Jiselle Roberson represented the buyer, Terra Industrial. Randy Ellison, Brett Lockwood, Kyle McGillen and Andrew Ryan represented the seller, Rexford Industrial Realty.
Marcus & Millichap announced the sale of the Knott-Orange Apartments, a 35-unit property at 515 S. Knott Ave. in Anaheim, for $9.7 million, which translates to $275,714 per unit. The seller was a family that had owned and operated the property for more than 30 years and was rebalancing its holdings through 1031 exchanges.
Gantry secured a $31 million permanent refinance for the Valley Central Shoppes at 44410–44690 Valley Central Way in Lancaster. The loan was a 10-year, fixed-rate, nonrecourse loan secured from one of Gantry's insurance company correspondents. Gantry will service the loan for the lender.
CBRE facilitated the $14.3 million sale of a 56,000-square-foot office property at 20 Centerpointe Drive in La Palma at $255 per square foot. At the time of sale, the building was approximately 84% leased to tenants including Convergint Technologies, ISEC Inc. and Telecare Corp. A local private investor acquired the property in a 1031 exchange.
The PwC and Urban Land Institute 'Emerging Trends in Real Estate' survey found that 50.5% of respondents rated 2027 business conditions as good to excellent. That figure is down from 55% in the 2026 survey and down from 65% in the 2025 survey, reflecting a two-year decline in positive sentiment among developers, investors, lenders and operators.
According to the PwC and ULI survey, nearly 89% of respondents identified interest rates and the cost of capital as among the largest problems in 2027. Just over 65% named jobs and income growth, and 63% cited inflation. On development issues, 67% cited labor costs and availability, 57.5% named state and local regulations, and 53% highlighted operating costs.
The PwC and ULI survey found that infrastructure categories of commercial real estate outscored every traditional and niche property type, including industrial, office, multifamily and hospitality. PwC and ULI noted that renewable energy, digital infrastructure and transportation all require massive infrastructure and capital investments and are now attracting institutional capital.
PwC and ULI contend the anticipated difficulties are not a systemic crisis or a sector-wide collapse, but a situational problem that may be tied to financing, ownership structure or the timing of the investment and not only from the asset itself. The report states the implications are showing up in how projects are financed, how capital is allocated, and how existing assets are valued and traded.
According to PwC and ULI, the aging population is creating new demand for senior housing and healthcare real estate. At the same time, a large segment of the U.S. population is reaching their mid-30s and moving toward buying homes. PwC and ULI also noted that household formation rates among young adults have decelerated while both structural undersupply and affordable undersupply of housing are occurring simultaneously.
The Federal Open Market Committee held the benchmark rate at 3.75%-4% at its October meeting. Thirty-year fixed mortgage rates, which track long-term Treasury yields rather than the Fed's benchmark directly, have remained above 7% for more than a month, according to Mortgage News Daily. Jeff DerGurahian, LoanDepot's chief investment officer and head economist, said no single factor will bring mortgage rates meaningfully lower.
The October hold could lead Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh and the Federal Open Market Committee to consider raising rates at their December meeting in order to bring inflation down to the Fed's 2% target, according to the source. Barclays' Giannoni also sees the Fed hiking in December and January as inflation pressures persist.
Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, told CNBC that high-net-worth consumers are enjoying the runup in AI stocks and the value of their equity holdings and are spending with some gusto. Lower- and middle-income consumers are increasingly struggling with falling real wages and high rates and are much more cautious and careful spenders, Zandi said.
The headline new-car APR has essentially flatlined at the 7% threshold all year, according to Joseph Yoon, senior analyst at Edmunds. Yoon said any rate dip in the next two months would reflect seasonal year-end dealer financing offers rather than a looser lending environment, and that used-car shoppers face interest rates that continue to hold above 10%.
Some top-yielding online savings accounts currently pay more than 4%, according to Bankrate. Matt Schulz of LendingTree said holding the Fed's rate unchanged has kept savings yields largely steady and described current rates as far greater than what consumers can get from a traditional savings account with a giant megabank, though below the record highs of a few years ago.
Georgia's data center pipeline totals nearly 20 gigawatts across about 100 planned facilities. Democratic candidates Peter Hubbard and Sheila Edwards have pledged to require data centers to fully cover their own power costs and, in Edwards's case, support a pause on new data center development for at least one year while the state develops regulations.
John Boyd Jr., principal of The Boyd Co., said a new board could delay power contract approvals and spike industrial electricity rates by shifting grid costs onto corporations. Clark Dean, executive managing director of Transwestern in Atlanta, said a Democrat-dominated PSC could hinder the state's economic development momentum by pushing more utility costs onto companies and slowing power grid contracts.
Georgia Power spokesperson Meredith Stone said the utility requires data center operators to pay for any additional power needs so the burden does not fall on the average customer. She said operators must make a 'huge financial commitment upfront' and that contracts, which can last up to 30 years, include early termination clauses. Stone said, 'They are paying more. They're paying their fair share and then some.'
Last December, the Georgia Public Service Commission approved an agreement allowing Georgia Power to expand the state's energy grid by 10 gigawatts by 2030 to accommodate the influx of data centers. The state's power capacity would need to increase by nearly 300% to meet the needs of the 119 planned data centers, according to Axios as cited in the article.
In District 3, Democrat Peter Hubbard leads Republican Fitz Johnson 51% to 42%. In District 5, Democrat Sheila Edwards leads Republican Josh Tolbert 51% to 42%. These figures come from a mid-August poll of 800 likely voters by GBAO Strategies, according to the Georgia Conservation Voters Action Fund. If both Democrats win, they would join Democrat Alicia Johnson to form a majority on the five-member board.
Brokerage firm 128 CRE is marketing the 140-acre Stone-E-Lea golf course as a large-scale redevelopment opportunity. The property is described in a 128 CRE release as significant because relatively few properties of its size and visibility are available in the region. The course is scheduled to close at the end of 2026.
The Lapierre family, which has owned Stone-E-Lea since the course opened in 1954, announced in August that it made the difficult decision to close due to the recent health struggles of David Lapierre. The course is expected to close at the end of 2026.
128 CRE's David Linehan, Adam Meixner, Jeremy Freid and Tyler Capecci are representing the ownership in the marketing and sale of the Stone-E-Lea property.
Several Massachusetts golf course redevelopments are in progress. Boston investment firm DW Capital proposed a 290-unit redevelopment at the former Leicester Country Club in April. The owner of the Wyckoff Country Club in Holyoke filed a proposal this month to convert that course into 100 upscale single-family homes.
Stone-E-Lea is located at 1411 County St. in Attleboro, Massachusetts, near I-95 between the Boston and Providence metropolitan areas. According to 128 CRE, relatively few properties of its 140-acre size and visibility are available in the region.
BKM Capital Partners has spent $2.8B on 72 assets in 2026, surpassing its original $2.3B annual target, according to CIO Brett Turner. The firm expects to reach $3B across 79 properties by year-end.
BKM Capital Partners has largely worked in tandem with Kayne Anderson Real Estate, a 42-year-old private equity real estate investor with $41B in assets under management, to expand its industrial footprint in 2026, according to the source.
BKM Capital Partners hedges 100% of its debt, and CIO Brett Turner said the firm has seen very little impact on assets it already owns as a result. Turner also said BKM has not asked sellers to lower prices on deals already in progress, citing the firm's reputation for deal volume.
BKM Capital Partners is primarily targeting small-bay light industrial assets in the Southeast, Texas and California, according to CIO Brett Turner. Between 75% and 80% of its deals are sourced off market, Turner said.
Tampa-based Lee & Associates industrial broker Jackson O'Neill said investors are aggressively underwriting small-bay industrial because they believe rents will continue to grow. Longpoint Partners partner Tom Stipanov said tenant demand in the sector drives outperformance and NOI growth independent of capital market conditions.
Panelists at Bisnow's DICE: Central conference in Dallas said transformer lead times are running up to three years for equipment required on virtually every large-scale project. Backup generators can take more than a year to procure. Gas turbines carry the longest waits, with delivery times of a decade or more currently contributing to yearslong timelines for grid connections.
Major developers with deep balance sheets are stockpiling long-lead equipment years in advance to create strategic reserves deployable across multiple projects. Sophisticated developers are also sharing demand forecasts with suppliers as far as three years in advance to reserve production capacity without purchasing equipment outright, according to panelists at Bisnow's DICE: Central conference in Dallas.
No. Panelists at Bisnow's DICE: Central said optical fiber takes six to eight months to arrive and structural steel roughly a year. Conduits and medium-voltage cables cause unexpected delays. Pumps, evaporators, fans, coils, and heat exchangers used in cooling equipment are routinely sold out for a year or more, and basic components like breakers can slow electrical system production.
Panelists at Bisnow's DICE: Central said the procurement landscape is not returning to normal as long as the sector continues on its current growth trajectory. CyrusOne's Sam Caddell said lead time impacts persist from raw materials all the way down and questioned whether the industry will ever return to pre-Covid conditions given the ongoing demand surge driven by AI.
According to Bisnow's report on DICE: Central, data center designs are now revised multiple times during development to accommodate new generations of hardware or shifting tenant strategies. These changes can render equipment ordered months earlier obsolete or create the need for new long-lead items after a project's schedule has already been set, adding uncertainty on top of existing procurement delays.
Pending home sales dropped 7.3% from August and were down 11.3% year-over-year in September, according to the National Association of Realtors. Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist, said housing affordability is more affected by changes in mortgage rates than by job growth or income gains, and the 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose from 6.8% to 7.6% during the month.
Ben Ayers, senior economist at Nationwide Financial, said in a note to investors that home construction activity is expected to remain moribund into 2027. Ayers said many builders are still trying to unload current projects using widespread price cuts and incentives, and that single-family housing starts could remain low for much of the next year as the market adjusts to a higher rate environment.
According to the National Association of Realtors, the West posted the largest month-to-month decline in pending home sales at -9.2%, followed by the South at -8.2%. The National Association of Realtors noted the South is usually the most active market and the West is the most expensive.
An October read on homebuilder sentiment came in at the lowest level in 14 years, according to the National Association of Home Builders. Current sales, future sales expectations, and buyer traffic all fell, with buyer traffic seeing the lowest level of the three components, according to NAHB data.
Robert Dietz, NAHB's chief economist, said higher mortgage rates, elevated construction costs, and weaker consumer confidence are keeping more buyers on the sidelines. Dietz also cited supply-side constraints and significant affordability challenges as factors squeezing housing, while noting that demand persists.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances dropped to 7.41% from 7.50%, marking the first rate decrease in over two months according to MBA economist Joel Kan. Despite this, total mortgage application volume still fell 5.3% week over week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's seasonally adjusted index.
Applications for a mortgage to purchase a home were 18% lower than the same week one year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's seasonally adjusted index. Purchase applications also fell 7% week over week, with buyers reacting less to weekly rate moves and more to the overall higher rate level.
Refinance demand was 59% lower than the same week one year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Rates are now over a full percentage point higher than they were a year ago, leaving a very small pool of borrowers who can benefit from a refinance, according to the source text.
The ARM share held steady at 10.5%, according to MBA economist Joel Kan, who said ARM rates remained almost a full percentage point lower than the 30-year fixed rate, giving qualified borrowers a lower rate option to purchase a home.
The National Association of Realtors on Tuesday reported a sharp drop in September pending home sales. Those sales are measured by signed contracts, showing the real-time impact of rising rates during September. According to the source, rates remained at that higher level in October.
Passco Chief Investment Officer Colin Gillis told Bisnow that New Hampshire offers proximity to the Greater Boston area without Massachusetts' regulatory burdens, underwriting uncertainty, and rent-control risk. New Hampshire also has no sales tax and no state income tax. Procopio Cos. CEO Michael Procopio said Massachusetts' environmental review process and looming rent-control threat have driven investors away.
Michael Procopio, CEO of The Procopio Cos., told Bisnow that most outside investors stopped looking at Massachusetts when the rent-control initiative was on the ballot. Even after a judge ruled the initiative unconstitutional in June, Procopio said only about 20% to 30% of those investors have returned to the Massachusetts market.
According to Colliers' second-quarter report cited by Bisnow, New Hampshire apartment occupancy stood at 95.4% as of Q2, and apartment asking rents increased 1.1% year-over-year to an average of $2,292 per month. More than 4,000 new multifamily units delivered in the state last year, which Colliers called the largest wave of new supply in years, and the supply was largely absorbed.
New Hampshire's House Bill 631, which took effect July 1, allows multifamily development to be built in commercial zones by right, according to Bisnow. Several other housing laws that went into effect in 2025 made the permitting process faster and allowed accessory dwelling units by right, according to the same source.
Bank OZK President Brannon Hamblen said debt markets are flush with liquidity, making origination highly competitive while generating a large volume of repayments on the legacy portfolio. Over the past 12 months, RESG collected $9.2B in repayments against $5.2B in new loans. Fourth-quarter repayments could be at or near a record, and the bank expects them to stay elevated through 2027.
Bank OZK extended the maturity date on its $915M construction loan for IQHQ's RaDD campus in downtown San Diego to December 2029. The sponsor and mezzanine lender contributed another $100M, bringing their total investment to about $1.23B. CEO George Gleason called RaDD 'an absolutely great asset' but the vast majority of its 1.7M SF of lab and office space is empty after the project delivered in 2024.
Yes. Bank OZK's outstanding CRE loans are now below 300% of its capital, the level at which regulators give banks closer scrutiny. RESG accounted for 45.2% of the bank's $34.1B in loans at the end of September, down from an all-time high of 70%.
CEO George Gleason said the market's troubles will be 'largely behind us' by the end of 2027. Gleason also said the bank is 'not all the way through this challenging CRE cycle, but we're a long way through that cycle.' Bank OZK also expects its corporate and institutional banking unit to overtake RESG in size sometime in 2027.
Cushman & Wakefield's India Capital MarketBeat reported USD 2.1 billion in total institutional real estate investments in Q3 2026, with foreign investors leading capital deployment at a 68% share of that quarter's activity.
According to Cushman & Wakefield's Q3 2026 India Capital MarketBeat, data centres captured 52% of institutional inflows in the quarter, making them the largest investment asset class, followed by office and hospitality assets.
Cushman & Wakefield reported that India's institutional real estate investments totalled USD 5.5 billion through the first nine months of 2026, representing an 11% increase year-over-year.
Cushman & Wakefield's India Capital MarketBeat identified Mumbai and Delhi NCR as the key investment destinations in Q3 2026, while also noting that multi-city projects attracted the majority of investments during the quarter.
According to Cushman & Wakefield's report, the Reserve Bank of India initiated a gradual policy tightening cycle with a 25 basis point rate hike, but borrowing costs remain significantly below 2024 levels, continuing to support real estate investment activity.
Travis King of REALM said families are moving beyond fragmented, indirect fund structures to build direct, intentional real estate portfolios driven by the need for income stability, inflation protection, and tax efficiency. The appeal includes durable income streams, depreciation benefits, and greater control over outcomes, with capital aligned to each family's specific tax, income, and legacy-building objectives.
Travis King, Founder & CEO of REALM, said the firm targets deals under $50 million because access to capital in that segment is more limited, causing pricing dislocations to be more pronounced. Sellers in this range are often driven by urgent liquidity needs or personal circumstances rather than strategic timing, which contributes to attractive entry points.
Travis King of REALM said many investors have prematurely written off the office sector. In primary hubs like New York, Northern California, Houston, and San Diego, high-quality office assets are trading at steep discounts, sometimes near land value, creating mispricing opportunities for investors with local expertise and operational discipline.
Travis King of REALM said the middle market is where inefficiency persists and opportunity follows, with properties frequently carrying complicated histories, capital stack challenges, or management fatigue. Unlike large institutions that can wait out long market cycles, many middle-market sellers face urgent liquidity needs, further contributing to attractive entry points and assets priced below replacement cost.
Travis King of REALM said a 30 to 50 percent discount is often insufficient to offset functional or locational obsolescence, making underwriting more nuanced than ever. He said that when the distinction between functional and merely dislocated assets is made correctly, today's environment offers a rare opportunity to acquire quality assets at historically attractive bases.
Houston is selling the Bob Lanier Building, a 27-story, 767,000-square-foot office tower at 611 Walker Street, after relocating its public works department to the former Continental Airlines headquarters at 1600 Smith Street. The city is marketing the site as a ground-up demolition and redevelopment opportunity near the geographic center of Downtown Houston.
Cushman & Wakefield's Tim Relyea was tapped to market 611 Walker Street. Relyea worked with Jon Pickard of Pickard Chilton to create a rendering example of a high-rise that could be developed if the site finds the right buyer.
Tim Relyea said the new building at 611 Walker Street could attract a major U.S. or regional corporate headquarters, national law firm, Big Four accounting firm, investment bank, or a combination of those users. Houston Public Works Director Randall Macchi also cited a major corporation or services firm as potential occupants. Other redevelopment options include a new hotel or residential tower.
Tim Relyea said top-tier office buildings can achieve full occupancy at premium rental rates in Houston even in a challenging office environment, citing Texas Tower as an example. Relyea said a new building at 611 Walker could be uniquely positioned to attract major corporate and professional tenants.
ExchangeRight Essential Income REIT bought the 664,000-square-foot Dow Texas Innovation Center in Lake Jackson from Brixton Capital. Miami-based Simi Capital acquired a 359,000-square-foot small-bay industrial portfolio in Northwest Houston in a joint venture with Decker Capital. Lone Star Funds secured $110 million in refinancing for two multifamily properties totaling 731 units in Stafford.
West Harbor announced three new tenants: Wagbar, an approximately 21,000-square-foot off-leash dog park and social bar; Tierra Azul, a Baja California-inspired bar and grill; and Sno Swell, a frozen desserts concept. Square footage for Tierra Azul and Sno Swell was not disclosed.
West Harbor is a 42-acre mixed-use complex at the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro, California, with a total development cost of $500M, according to the project announcement.
Wagbar's approximately 21,000-square-foot open-air space at West Harbor will host dog-focused events including rescue and adoption partnerships as well as community programming, according to West Harbor.
The latest leasing announcements at West Harbor include Tierra Azul, a Baja California-inspired bar and grill, and Sno Swell, which sells frozen desserts. Square footage for both food concepts was not disclosed.
A joint venture between Coastal Ridge Real Estate and Brookfield acquired The Grad, a 1,039-bed student housing high-rise in downtown San Jose, for $204 million. The 19-story, 543,000-square-foot tower at 88 E. San Carlos St. was completed in 2020 and is one block from San Jose State University.
A three-party joint venture comprising Kennedy Wilson, Hulic Co., and Fuyo General Lease (USA) Inc. purchased One South Market for $176 million. The per-unit price of $564,000 outstripped the five-year average in the area of $467,000, according to the Silicon Valley Business Journal.
The sale of The Grad was promoted after the former owners had trouble refinancing the property amid high interest rates, according to the Silicon Valley Business Journal. Swenson CEO Case Swenson said the primary investors lacked the capital necessary to obtain refinancing, adding, 'If I could hold on to it, I would.'
Lakevision Capital sold One South Market and had originally purchased the property for $175 million in 2020. The 23-story apartment building was completed in 2015.
Blackstone's Digital Infrastructure Trust (BXDC) launched on the NYSE in mid-May 2026, selling 87.5 million shares at $20 apiece. The fund is down roughly 16% since then, with shares closing under $17 on Thursday, according to the article. Blackstone declined to offer further comment on the performance.
New York passed a moratorium on new hyperscale data center approvals in July 2026, and Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered a halt on new approvals in August 2026. Gallup polling found 70% of Americans oppose a data center being built in their area, and a New York Times/Siena poll found roughly two-thirds opposed regardless of political party, according to the article.
Sabur Mollah, professor of finance at Gettysburg College, identified overvaluation driven by AI enthusiasm, high development and maintenance costs, dependence on a limited number of major technology tenants, and power availability constraints as key risks. Additional concerns cited include technological obsolescence, refinancing risk, construction delays, and the need for continuing capital expenditure.
No. Blue Owl already runs a private digital infrastructure fund and is reportedly considering a public REIT valued as high as $6.5 billion that would roll up existing data center investments. Brookfield Asset Management listed its data center services provider Csquare as a stand-alone vehicle on the NYSE in July 2026, though Csquare's shares have also declined close to 16% since debuting.
The purchase price was not disclosed. Real Capital Solutions and Dunton Commercial said in a statement they acquired Terrace Tower 'at a fraction of replacement cost.' Arapahoe County appraised the building at $34 million this year, and it last sold in 2012 for $37.8 million to Sun Life Assurance Co. of Canada, according to Arapahoe County property records.
Real Capital Solutions is targeting $400 million for its first investment fund, with capital to be used to acquire discounted office properties across the U.S. CEO Marcel Arsenault contributed $50 million to start the fund earlier this year. Terrace Tower is the firm's 15th office acquisition since 2024, and RCS Chief Acquisitions Officer Adam Abeln said the company is focused on high-quality assets acquired well below replacement cost.
The vacancy rate in the southeast suburban office market, which includes the Denver Tech Center, is about 20%, according to TRE. Denver's overall office vacancy ranges between 22% and 28.8%, according to recent reports from Marcus & Millichap and CBRE. Overall U.S. office vacancy sits at 18.3%, according to CBRE's second-quarter office report.
Tenants at Terrace Tower include branches of the U.S. General Services Administration, Vitesse Energy and Holmes Murphy, according to RCS and Dunton Commercial. The building was 72% occupied at the time of purchase, with an average lease term of 7.2 years.
Terrace Tower underwent $10 million in capital improvements in 2021, including a new roof and upgrades to its lobby, fitness center, tenant lounge, conference rooms and building systems, according to information provided by RCS and Dunton Commercial.
Cushman & Wakefield reported MOB investment volume reached $6.7 billion in the first half of 2026, a 21% increase year-over-year. Portfolio sales more than doubled from a year earlier, and single-asset sales rose 42% to $3.4 billion.
Cushman & Wakefield reported MOB cap rates compressed 35 basis points year-over-year to 6.8% in the first half of 2026. However, Cushman & Wakefield noted that compression has slowed and pricing remains above long-term averages.
Cushman & Wakefield reported MOB one-year total returns climbed to 6% in Q2 2026, the highest level since 2022, as appreciation turned positive for a third consecutive quarter.
According to Cushman & Wakefield, improving capital market conditions, expanding lender appetite, stable cash flows, demographic tailwinds, and consistent long-term performance drove increased capital flows into healthcare real estate in the first half of 2026.
Cushman & Wakefield reported that both contributed to growth, but portfolio sales led the surge, more than doubling year-over-year in the first half of 2026. Single-asset sales also rose substantially, climbing 42% to $3.4 billion.
From September 2025 through August 2026, big-ticket renovation categories declined in a range of 10% to 28% at Home Depot and Lowe's compared with the prior year, according to Datavations CEO Philip Odelfelt. Shower stall and kit sales fell 21% in dollar terms and 28% in unit terms. Bathtub sales dropped 10% in dollars and 12% in units over the same period.
Despite homeowners originating nearly 20% more second mortgages or HELOCs in the second quarter compared with the first quarter, experts say they are using the equity to stay afloat rather than for improvements. Mark Ratchford, a business school professor at Tulane University who studies consumer behavior related to home equity, said homeowners are using HELOCs to cover credit card debt, not for home improvements.
Angie Hicks, co-founder and chief customer officer of Angi, said homeowners are prioritizing maintenance — such as furnace tune-ups and water heater replacements — rather than major projects like kitchen remodels or new decks. Angi data shows 60% of consumers are now putting off projects and switching to maintenance. Lowe's CFO Brandon Sink confirmed an ongoing trend of caution around big-ticket discretionary spending on Lowe's most recent earnings call.
Kenneth Klein, a law professor at California Western School of Law, found that more than 70% of homeowners with insurance were underinsured by an average of roughly 20%, based on an analysis of California Department of Insurance data covering 74,000 fire-related claims from 2018 to 2023. Klein stated the problem is not limited to California.
Standard homeowners insurance policies exclude or limit coverage for flood damage, defined as water entering a home from the ground up. Homeowners need a separate flood insurance policy. The National Flood Insurance Program is the primary source of flood insurance for residential properties, but less than 4% of U.S. households have purchased a policy from it, according to a 2025 FEMA blog post.
Replacement costs for property-and-casualty-related losses increased by 45% between 2020 and 2023 on average, according to a Treasury Department report. Labor costs for workers building single-family homes rose 37% between 2018 and 2022. Peter Kochenburger, visiting law professor at Southern University Law Center, said homeowners whose policy limits have not kept pace are "stuck" if they lose their house.
Lareesa Klingler, director of national claims for the private risk solutions group of Lockton, recommended "extended replacement cost" coverage, which adds 10% to 50% above a policy's dwelling coverage limit according to Policygenius. Klingler also recommended "ordinance or law coverage" for older homes, which covers costs to bring a rebuilt home up to current building code.
BlackRock stated that most European real estate markets have moved past the cyclical bottom and that the inflection point is now behind investors. BlackRock described the current window as characterised by higher yields, improving liquidity, strengthening sentiment, and early signs of valuation recovery, while noting the recovery remains gradual.
BlackRock identified living, logistics, data centres, and hospitality as the sectors most suited to value-add capital in the current cycle, citing structural tailwinds including demographics, digitalisation, and geopolitical reconfiguration. BlackRock also noted that many office, retail, and mixed-use assets remain underinvested and represent repositioning opportunities.
BlackRock, citing CBRE European Living Outlook as at January 2026, estimated Europe faces a housing shortfall of 9.6 million homes. BlackRock attributed the gap to urbanisation, smaller household sizes, rising household formation, and lagging new supply caused by higher construction costs and financing constraints, particularly in gateway cities such as London, Madrid, and Paris.
BlackRock said returns are expected to be driven primarily through income growth as interest rates stabilise but remain structurally higher. BlackRock stated the next phase reflects a shift away from relying on yield compression toward driving returns through operational performance, building scale, enhancing income generation, and improving operational efficiency.
The paper is attributed to Steven Cornet, identified as Global Head of Research and Strategy at BlackRock, and Thomas Mueller-Borja, identified as Global Co-Head for Real Estate, Global Chief Investment Officer for Value-Add Real Estate, and Co-Portfolio Manager for the European value-add real estate funds series.
The Oasis Apartments are being developed by Denver-based BMC Investments and private equity firm Rockpoint. The building is located at 299 Milwaukee St. in Cherry Creek North and includes 177 apartment units and 26,000 square feet of retail space. BMC Investments and Rockpoint broke ground on the project in 2024.
According to Mile High CRE, confirmed retail tenants at the Oasis Apartments include Two Hands, a cafe and restaurant; PopUp Bagels, a bagel shop; a real estate brokerage; and a home furnishings shop. All retailers are expected to open throughout 2027.
Cherry Creek North had a retail vacancy rate of 4.1% in 2025, making retail a high-demand commodity in the submarket.
Renters are expected to move into the Oasis Apartments' 177 apartment units in the first quarter of 2027. Retailers occupying the building's 26,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space are expected to open throughout 2027.
The Oasis Apartments at 299 Milwaukee St. in Cherry Creek North includes 26,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. According to Mile High CRE, the retail space is fully leased ahead of the building's 2027 opening, with tenants including Two Hands, PopUp Bagels, a real estate brokerage, and a home furnishings shop.
Trove Capital and Hightop Development have proposed a combined 262 townhomes across two South Philadelphia projects. Trove Capital is seeking to build 140 townhouses at 3100 Penrose Ferry Road, while Hightop Development is seeking approvals for 122 units at the corner of Shunk and 22nd streets.
The Philadelphia Civic Design Review Committee has scheduled both the Trove Capital and Hightop Development proposals on its October 6 agenda. The meeting is scheduled to start at 1 p.m.
Korman Communities and Ensemble/Mosaic delivered the first 614 residential units across two buildings at the Philadelphia Navy Yard earlier this year. The developer said earlier this month the units were 40% occupied.
Getty Corp. purchased the 110K SF Dickson City Commons at 1106 Commerce Blvd. outside Scranton from Meritus Realty Ventures, anchored by Marshalls and Michaels. Echo Realty and TPG purchased the 269K SF Water Tower Square shopping center at 751 Horsham Road in Montgomeryville from The Goldenberg Group, anchored by Sprouts and Home Depot. Sales prices were not disclosed by CBRE.
The Brookings Institution paper found the next-largest capital expenditure boom was the U.S. railway build-out from 1870 through 1890, which averaged 2.2% of GDP. The AI build-out's projected cost is more than three times what was spent on America's highway system and six times more than was spent on electrification at the turn of the 20th century.
At least $1.3 trillion in debt has already been committed to underwriting the data center boom, according to the Brookings Institution paper. Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh noted this is still less than half the $3 trillion tied up in the subprime mortgage crisis that led to the Great Recession, though he said every bank now has concentrated exposure to AI.
Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh identified several risks: the large number of massive single-tenant facilities creates credit risk if a hyperscaler faces a liquidity crunch; new data center hardware develops so quickly that new builds can become obsolete; and complex financing structures involving private credit and off-balance-sheet vehicles are making it harder to track where risk lies in the marketplace.
Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh estimated roughly five to eight years of strong growth before oversupply becomes a concern. He said historical precedent suggests credit constraints will loosen, more speculative development will occur, and oversupply will eventually follow, causing prices to collapse, as happens in every real estate cycle.
Project-level data cited in the Brookings Institution paper suggests the total pipeline totals 509 gigawatts. Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh assumed 227 gigawatts of proposed capacity will never be built and another 117 gigawatts will come online after 2032, leaving 183 gigawatts as the basis for the $10.3 trillion cost estimate through 2032.
CNBC's Jim Cramer said he expects KB Home's Tuesday earnings to reinforce the challenges facing the housing industry in a tightening interest-rate environment, similar to what investors heard from Lennar earlier last week. Cramer did not specify a price target or revenue estimate in his comments.
The source states that Cramer expects KB Home's results to be similar to what investors heard from Lennar earlier last week in the context of a tightening interest-rate environment, but the source does not detail the specific figures or findings from Lennar's report.
The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by a quarter point, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average bore the brunt of that decision, falling 1.7% for the week, according to CNBC. Policymakers also signaled that additional tightening could be ahead. The S&P 500 dropped 0.1% while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.7%.
CNBC's Jim Cramer said he expects KB Home's Tuesday results to reinforce the challenges facing the housing industry in a tightening interest-rate environment, suggesting a cautious outlook. The source does not include a direct buy or sell recommendation from Cramer on KB Home or the homebuilder sector broadly.
According to CNBC's Jim Cramer, the same week includes earnings from Cintas and Paychex on Wednesday, General Mills on Wednesday, Darden Restaurants on Thursday, and Costco after Thursday's bell. Cramer also highlighted Okta's analyst meeting on Wednesday as the week's most consequential corporate event.
Galvanize Real Estate, an arm of San Francisco-based global asset manager Galvanize, acquired the four-building Milpitas industrial portfolio for approximately $94 million, or about $311 per square foot. Galvanize was founded in 2021 by billionaire Tom Steyer along with Katie Hall, formerly of Hall Capital Partners.
DRA Advisors purchased the Milpitas portfolio in 2024 for $75 million, or roughly $249 per square foot. Galvanize Real Estate acquired it for approximately $94 million, or $311 per square foot, representing a higher price per square foot than DRA Advisors paid.
Physical AI and robotics companies require significant electrical capacity, and the Cadillac Court campus offers 8,000 amps of available power, described as an important requirement for such tenants. Nearby occupiers include Tesla, Amazon, Seagate and Supermicro, according to the source text.
According to Newmark, Silicon Valley industrial vacancy dipped to 6.2%, supported by 1.4 million square feet of year-to-date net absorption. Newmark President of Western Region Capital Markets Steve Golubchik said the market is seeing stronger leasing activity, declining vacancy and more demand from advanced manufacturing and AI-driven companies.
Nearby tech companies include Tesla, Amazon, Seagate and Supermicro, according to the source text. Tesla leased 375,000 square feet of research and development space in Fremont's Warm Springs district, and Figure AI opened a nearly 99,000-square-foot robotics campus in San Jose in 2025.
Michael Pugh, CEO at Local Initiatives Support Corp., said mold and habitability lawsuit insurance premiums have risen 300% or more. Pro Insurance Group said habitability insurance premiums now range from $375 to $1,400 per unit depending on the age and size of the building, and the Illinois-based brokerage described habitability insurance as one of the most volatile and rapidly changing commercial property lines in 2026.
Chris Gray, president of Moss & Co., a Los Angeles-area property management firm operating more than 15,000 apartment units, said hiring an attorney and mounting a defense without insurance can cost landlords between $50,000 and $100,000. Jury verdicts in mold cases can reach into the millions of dollars, including a February decision that awarded $2.3 million in a Long Beach, California, mold case.
Mold violations in Los Angeles County for buildings with five or more units more than doubled from 2021 to 2025, reaching 116 last year, according to the county health department. New York City's 311 service tracked more than 31,000 mold complaints in 2025 and is on pace to match that in 2026. Chris Gray, president of Moss & Co., called mold litigation the biggest threat to multifamily ownership today in Los Angeles.
Jake Cohen of Cohen, Cohen & Cohen Law in Southern California said that as other litigation areas, especially auto accidents, proved less lucrative or more crowded during the pandemic, more firms turned to mold litigation. Cohen said mill firms are spending money to advertise to attract mold cases. Kristina Baehr, who represented an Austin couple awarded $1 million in a mold case, said improved science around mold's health impacts has made juries more responsive.
According to the article, increased risk of lawsuits has driven up the cost of habitability insurance, pushing some carriers out of states like California. The rising cost and decreasing availability of these policies leave landlords more vulnerable to financial penalties in the event of a suit, according to the source text.
The average rate on the 30-year fixed reached 7.22% on Tuesday, according to Mortgage News Daily. The Mortgage Bankers Association's weekly survey showed the rate at 6.97% the prior week, up from 6.85%. Matthew Graham, chief operating officer at Mortgage News Daily, said the 0.33 percentage point rise over six business days is the most abrupt jump since October 2024.
Joel Kan, vice president and deputy chief economist at the MBA, said ongoing market concerns over spiking energy prices, persistently high inflation, and future monetary policy pushed bond yields and mortgage rates higher. Matthew Graham, chief operating officer at Mortgage News Daily, cited implications of recent economic data and oil price impacts on Fed policy as contributors to the volatility.
Applications to refinance a home loan dropped 9% for the week and were 65% lower than the same week one year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Joel Kan, vice president and deputy chief economist at the MBA, said the current level of rates eliminated much of the refinance benefit for many borrowers, resulting in declines in conventional, FHA, and VA refinance applications.
Applications for a mortgage to purchase a home dropped 1% for the week and were 19% lower than the same week one year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Potential buyers are also contending with high home prices, and while housing supply has been gaining in much of the country, much of that supply is on the higher end of the market, according to the source.
The Mortgage Bankers Association tracks 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances of $832,750 or less, with points rising to 0.72 from 0.67, including the origination fee, for loans with a 20% down payment.
HBC sold the Netflix House building at King of Prussia Mall at 180 N. Gulph Road to EPR Properties for $60 million, according to the Philadelphia Business Journal. The 120,000-square-foot building was previously occupied by Lord & Taylor, which shuttered in 2021.
Netflix signed a 10-year lease for the experiential retail space at King of Prussia Mall at the end of 2024.
Missouri-based EPR Properties focuses on experiential tenants such as museums, venues, and family entertainment centers.
Cabot Properties acquired two industrial buildings spanning 484,000 square feet at Springbrooke Trade Center, located at 300 and 500 Springbrooke Blvd. in Aston, Delaware County, from an affiliate of Affinius Capital. The Springbrooke Trade Center was completed in 2022. No sale price was disclosed.
South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha signed a 64,000-square-foot office lease at Ensemble Investments' 201 Rouse Blvd. in the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Hanwha already has a major manufacturing presence covering 115 acres in the South Philly industrial and office complex.
Intro 90 would require landlords to provide written notice of intent to renew or not renew 120 days before lease expiration, supply two years of past utility and insurance costs, offer standard leasing agreement language in several languages, and grant tenants a one-time lease extension of up to one year if no renewal agreement is reached, with rent increases capped at between 7% and 10% during that period.
New York's prime retail corridors ended the second quarter with their lowest average availability rate since 2017, at 11.6%, with just 164 storefronts available, according to JLL. Asking rents in many corridors are around 30% below pre-pandemic peaks but have been rising in most corners of Manhattan, with demand spreading beyond prime corridors, according to REBNY.
Cushman & Wakefield Executive Vice Chair Joanne Podell said some provisions of Intro 90 would do the opposite of protecting small businesses. Cushman & Wakefield Vice Chair Steven Soutendijk testified that the mandatory extension addresses an insignificant issue, arguing owners typically prefer working with proven tenants over replacing them. Manhattan Chamber of Commerce CEO Jessica Walker added the extension could make it harder for landlords to refinance.
If the landlord already has a new tenant lined up for the space and has informed the current occupant, the mandatory extension period shrinks from up to one year to 90 days, according to the bill's provisions.
Intro 90 was introduced by Manhattan Council Member Gale Brewer in January and has nine co-sponsors. The bill applies to ground- and second-floor spaces used for retail sales. Versions of the bill have existed since 2021 but had not received hearings until now, according to The Real Deal.
The RFK campus plan calls for two multilevel garages, G1 and G2, totaling 6,000 new parking spaces. These will be in addition to the roughly 2,000 existing surface parking spaces already on site, according to submission materials from the RFK Stadium Project Management Office and the Washington Commanders.
The National Capital Planning Commission granted preliminary approval of the Commanders' stadium in April, and the Commission of Fine Arts preliminarily approved the stadium in July. Final review by the NCPC is expected in early 2027. The NCPC and CFA are now separately reviewing concept plans for the two planned parking garages.
The RFK campus redevelopment covers 180 acres and is slated to include a 70,000-seat Washington Commanders stadium, between 5,000 and 6,500 homes, and two multilevel parking garages totaling 6,000 spaces. Public space around the garages is envisioned to support arts and craft festivals, farmers markets, and outdoor concerts, according to submission materials.
A community group near the proposed G2 garage has opposed any multilevel garage near its Kingman Park neighborhood and is instead calling for a new metro station, according to the source. Members of both the NCPC and the CFA have previously expressed concerns about the garages, including whether they would obstruct views, according to the Washington Business Journal.
The Commission of Fine Arts is reviewing the garage concept plans at its Thursday meeting, with commentary and any action to be documented the following week, according to an agency spokesperson. The National Capital Planning Commission is scheduled to review the parking garage concept plans on October 1.
Vancouver commercial real estate investment volume fell 23% year-over-year to $3.5 billion in H1 2026, according to Altus Group. Capital allocation shifted toward defensive, income-oriented assets. Most major sectors recorded lower transaction volumes, with the sole exception being retail, which rose a marginal 1% to $866 million.
According to Altus Group, Vancouver office was the hardest-hit sector with a 46% year-over-year decline in transaction volume in H1 2026, followed by multi-family at down 41% and industrial at down 19%. Retail was the only sector to grow, rising 1% to $866 million.
Vancouver industrial availability stood at 5.9% in H1 2026, with four straight quarters of positive absorption, according to Altus Group. Industrial investment volume fell 19% to nearly $669 million over the same period, but Altus Group described fundamentals as staying tight despite the decline in dollar volume.
According to Altus Group, Vancouver office volume of approximately $394 million in H1 2026 was constrained more by limited high-quality supply than by weakening demand. Office availability reached 12.4%, up 10 basis points year-over-year, and has remained in the 12% to 13% range for a third consecutive year.
According to Altus Group's CRE This Week dated September 9, 2026, notable Greater Vancouver Area transactions included a retail property at 1215 56th Street, Delta sold for $18,200,000 at $650 per sq. ft., an apartment at 1025 Chilco Street, Vancouver for $10,650,000 at $355,000 per unit, and an industrial unit in Surrey for $6,350,000 at $449 per sq. ft.
The National Association of Realtors report found no single clear effect on local housing markets, with NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun stating the story varies significantly depending on the local market. NAR said it does not have evidence that data center clusters themselves were the drivers of higher home values, though counties with 10 or more data centers had a median home value of nearly $432,000 versus $174,500 in counties with none.
CBRE found that industrial properties within two miles of a data center command about a 7% rent premium, according to James Breeze, CBRE's head of industrial research.
NAR found residential electricity rates rose 21.4% from 2020 to 2024 in counties with 10 or more data centers, compared with 15.7% in counties without data centers. Realtors surveyed by NAR also voiced client concerns over energy costs and water use from data centers.
NAR said data centers are highly concentrated in a small number of markets, with over 90% of counties having no mapped data centers. NAR's report identified some of the largest clusters as being in Northern Virginia, Silicon Valley, central Ohio, the Phoenix area and central Washington.
NAR principal economist Nadia Evangelou said the research does not support concluding that a data center will automatically raise or lower nearby home values. NAR's survey found 25% of Realtor respondents reported a positive residential impact and 22% reported a negative impact, with roughly one third saying they were not sure. Evangelou said even half a mile of distance can make a difference.
According to NAR's 2026 Data Center Impact report, Loudoun County, Virginia, leads the nation with 213 facilities. Santa Clara County, California, ranks second with 75. Maricopa County, Arizona, and Prince William County, Virginia, each have 63 facilities. NAR researchers identified 1,474 data centers across 251 U.S. counties in total.
NAR's survey found half of respondents reported a positive impact on nearby commercial property values, with 22% saying values increased by more than 10%. Industrial properties experienced the most demand near data centers, cited by 58% of respondents, followed by land at 38%. Real estate firms make up roughly 6.4% of all businesses in counties with the highest concentration of data centers, compared with 4.9% in counties with no data centers.
NAR's data analysis found that residential electricity rates increased faster from 2020 to 2024 in counties with 10 or more data centers, rising 21.4%, compared with 15.7% in counties without data centers. However, NAR's report noted the increase did not consistently rise with the number of facilities. Energy costs were cited as the top client concern by 61% of Realtor respondents.
According to NAR's 2026 Data Center Impact report, counties with 10 or more data centers have median household incomes of about $89,000, compared with $64,000 in counties without data centers. Employment in those high-concentration counties grew about 16% from 2014 to 2024, versus 2% growth in counties without data centers. Adults in high-concentration counties hold bachelor's degrees at a rate of 41%, compared with 22% elsewhere.
Palo Alto Unified School District's Eric Holm said districts have repeatedly learned to favor demolition over renovation for buildings older than 50 years. Sacramento City Unified's Matt Juchniewicz noted that modernization does not pencil out on a per-square-foot basis when enrollment is already at 36,000 against a capacity of 57,000 and is expected to fall further.
Some Bay Area districts are converting surplus real estate to workforce housing. Jefferson Unified School District created 122 teacher housing units in Serramonte in 2022. Pacifica School District has 70 units underway after razing Oddstad Elementary School. Calistoga Joint Unified School District is creating 130 units of subsidized teacher housing in Napa County.
Nathan Herrero, principal and vice president at SVA Architects, said outdated low-slung masonry buildings are prime candidates for razing. Buildings with defining characteristics, such as a project his team encountered built with laminated timber surrounded by old-growth trees, may be worth preserving. Herrero said if a building is marginal and requires complete change of use, replacement is preferable.
Redwood City School District worked with DLR Group to design family centers at eight schools, providing food, clothing, educational workshops, and immigration guidance, funded by Measure S passed in 2022. Salinas City Elementary School District is creating community centers at nine of its schools, according to Amna Javed, director of bond projects for the district.
Lev Weisbach, Rivercrest Partners senior vice president and managing partner for the San Francisco Bay Area, said teachers are commuting long distances or leaving, creating recruitment and retention costs for districts. Weisbach said converting surplus land into teacher housing represents a 'win-win' that turns a negative into a positive for districts.
IOS investment reached $14B to $16B in 2025, an increase of 15% from the prior year, according to Matthews data. Deal activity in 2026 is projected to outpace 2025, and Max Heiden, co-founder and partner of Catalyst Investment Partners, forecasts twice as many portfolio sales this year as there were in 2025, with new records set in deal size.
Data center developers use IOS lots for construction staging and to store heavy equipment and building materials, according to the source. Data center developers make up about 20% of new demand for IOS, according to Max Heiden of Catalyst Investment Partners. Tech giants including Google and Microsoft have invested in IOS sites to advance their data center plans.
IOS vacancy stands at 3.6% nationally, versus 6.5% for industrial overall, according to CBRE's Q2 IOS report. Nationwide IOS rents hit $11.07 per SF per month in the second quarter, a 1.6% year-over-year rise, according to the same report.
The trucking industry faces a labor shortage, high diesel prices, and an industry-level recession, with some carriers canceling parking leases as the market adjusts to smaller workforces, which may soften IOS demand. Cary Goldman, founder and manager of Timber Hill Group, said his firm is seeing very modest contractions in its lots but characterized this as showing the resilience of the business.
Clarion Partners funded a 2.3M SF IOS portfolio in March 2025, Stockbridge Partners invested in a Texas portfolio in October, and Apex IOS, backed by Clarion, acquired property in Jacksonville early this year, according to the source. Blake Rodgers, principal at Steel Peak, said core-plus money has begun to enter the IOS space.
Martin Property Group has agreed a deal with PwC to take over approximately 100 NCP car park sites. Martin Property Group would assume the leases and run the operations of those sites rather than purchasing the underlying properties outright, according to Sky News.
NCP went into administration in March owing unsecured creditors, including landlords, more than £200 million. Revenue had consistently declined as fewer people drove into city centres, but NCP was tied into long leases with fixed payments and could not reduce its largest cost when income dropped.
Martin Property Group has a private equity arm that owns a small car parking business called MPG Parking. The proposed takeover of approximately 100 NCP sites would represent a major push into the car parking sector for the group.
Lysara, described as one of NCP's largest single landlords and an infrastructure investor and developer, terminated its leases with NCP and transitioned the operation of 30 car parks to Q-Park and Apex.
Martin Property Group's portfolio includes shopping centres such as Eastgate Square in Chester and Garden Square in Letchworth. The group also holds a residential development portfolio comprising 1,500 units and has acquired dozens of regional shopping centre and residential development assets in recent years.
According to Yardi, pre-leasing across the Yardi 200 — a curated set of the most important student housing markets representing 90% of institutional space — reached 89.1% in July, up from 88.1% in July 2025. However, 117 of the 200 markets were at or above their year-earlier levels, indicating significant variation across markets.
Mike Gordon, global chief investment officer for real estate at Harrison Street, said enrollment, applications, selectivity, research funding and student outcomes are increasingly concentrated at leading institutions, specifically naming Michigan, UVA, UNC and a number of large public Power Four universities, which he said are operating at or above 95% occupancy.
Harrison Street Asset Management sold a 12-property student housing portfolio for $910 million earlier this year, which was described as one of the largest dispositions in the student housing sector in recent years.
Mike Gordon of Harrison Street said differences between university markets have grown quickly due to funding cuts, enrollment trends and specific student demand, making it harder to generalize across markets. Gordon said Harrison Street's conviction in student housing overall is high, but its conviction in every student housing market is not.
Mike Gordon, global chief investment officer for real estate at Harrison Street, specifically cited Virginia Tech, Auburn University and Penn State as markets where housing supply has lagged enrollment growth.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances of $832,750 or less stood at 6.79%, up from 6.78% the prior week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs was significantly lower at 5.94%, a spread that is driving more borrowers toward adjustable-rate products.
Yes. The ARM share of mortgage applications reached 8% last week, its highest level in five weeks, according to MBA chief economist Mike Fratantoni. The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs fell to 5.94%, well below the 6.79% average for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, making ARMs more attractive despite their future rate-adjustment risk.
No. Applications to refinance a home loan dropped 1% for the week and were 19% lower than the same week one year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. With rates at current levels, most borrowers have very little incentive to refinance unless they need to pull equity out of their homes.
Total mortgage application volume rose just 0.8% last week compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's seasonally adjusted index. Purchase applications eked out a 2% weekly gain but remained 0.2% lower than the same week one year ago, when rates were 15 basis points lower.
Assembly Bill 817 would require new cold storage facilities over 20,000 SF to create and maintain a contingency fund of up to $20 million as a condition of receiving approvals to build. Senate Bill 716 would levy higher penalties for violations at large commercial buildings, including cold storage facilities, when major violations occur. Both bills are headed to Governor Gavin Newsom for approval.
Both bills were prompted by the Boyle Heights warehouse fire, which burned for a week in mid-June. The removal and cleanup of the burned and rotting contents of the warehouse was completed on Aug. 29. Nearby residents complained of rats and flies descending on the neighborhood, drawn by the smell of decay.
Provender Partners CEO Neil A. Johnson said the bills would likely make it harder to build a new refrigerated warehouse in California than it already is. Green Street Head of U.S. Industrial Research Vince Tibone said he does not think the legislation will have much impact because there is already little development happening in California, but it will add costs and roadblocks to supply over time.
High construction costs mean developers in California rarely break ground unless a project is preleased or structured as a build-to-suit. Year to date, there is approximately 600,000 SF of cold storage space under construction in the Inland Empire. The average existing cold storage facility in the Inland Empire was built in 1974, according to Newmark data.
According to the source, AB 817 would apply only to cold storage facilities in the Boyle Heights community plan area until July 2028, when it would take effect statewide.
Hackman Capital Partners sold a 57,000-square-foot flex industrial building at 401 Coral Circle in El Segundo to Majestic Asset Management for approximately $27 million, or $480 per square foot. Hackman had purchased the property in 2018 for roughly $15.3 million, according to The Real Deal.
Rivian is subleasing the full 57,000-square-foot building at 401 Coral Circle in El Segundo from Boeing. The lease expires in 2034, according to The Real Deal.
Los Angeles industrial market leasing activity totaled 15.7 million square feet in the second quarter, a 40.4% year-over-year increase, according to CBRE. El Segundo and other South Bay cities are receiving a boost from aerospace and defense tech tenants seeking to locate and grow there.
Hackman Capital Partners' studio portfolio is under financial pressure, with properties being taken over by lenders or pushed toward sales as debt on studios such as Manhattan Beach's MBS Studios and Fairfax's Television City goes into default or threatens to, according to the source.
Harlem's lab vacancy situation is the most acute in NYC. Janus Property Co.'s Taystee Lab Building at 450 W. 126th St. has been empty since it opened in 2022 and faces foreclosure. The nearby Labs On 121, a 193K SF building delivered in 2024 by Real Estate Equities Corp and Nightingale Properties, is also still empty and is now expected to be leased as office space, according to Bisnow.
Industry sources cited several factors: higher commute times from other boroughs and New Jersey; weaker transit and retail amenities compared to Kips Bay, according to Cushman & Wakefield's Sandy Romero; dependence on research institutions such as Columbia and CUNY that have been hurt by federal NIH grant cuts; and citywide challenges including high rents at $99.17 per SF and broader market uncertainty, according to JLL's John Cahill.
Scott Metzner, founder and principal of Janus Property Co., said Wells Fargo sought repayment on a matured loan and Janus was unable to pay it back. The Taystee Lab Building is now facing a foreclosure suit. Metzner said Janus needs a capital infusion to retain the Harlem properties it developed, including the Taystee, Mink, and Malt buildings.
Yes. Alexandria Real Estate Equities' 728K SF of NYC properties are 95.5% occupied, with tenants including Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, and Pfizer's Center for Therapeutic Innovation, according to Alexandria's Q2 earnings report. In Long Island City, GFP Real Estate and King Street Capital's Innolabs is fully leased after signing deals with NYU Langone totaling more than 150K SF, plus a 16K SF deal with robotics company Rover.
The NIH issued $35.3B in grants in fiscal year 2025, down from $44.9B the prior year, with disruptions to more than 1 in 5 NIH grants nationally, according to Grant Witness. In New York, $2.1B of $4B in federally allocated NIH funds has not yet been distributed. CUNY ASRC Executive Director Mark Hauber said the cuts have prevented startup companies from receiving grants and continuing to develop, reducing the pipeline of potential tenants.
St. George, Utah is the top-ranked metropolitan market in the NAR index. Nadia Evangelou, principal economist and director of real estate research at NAR, said St. George has the most significant office employment growth in the nation, very strong population growth and in-migration, and above-average industrial demand, reflecting broader momentum rather than a single-sector spike.
South Carolina ranks highest among all U.S. states in future potential demand for commercial real estate, according to the National Association of Realtors index. The NAR index cited Spartanburg, South Carolina as one of the notable smaller markets within the state.
The NAR index compares current market conditions to 2022, the peak of the pandemic migration boom. Raleigh, North Carolina is the only major U.S. market that is stronger today than it was in 2022. Formerly strong markets such as Austin, Texas, Miami, and Naples, Florida have all declined markedly since 2022, according to the index.
NAR principal economist Nadia Evangelou cited Fayetteville, Arkansas, Huntsville, Alabama, and Spartanburg, South Carolina as notable smaller markets. Evangelou said Fayetteville is seeing broad-based growth and Huntsville has one of the strongest multifamily scores in the nation. Evangelou said small and midsized markets could provide some of the best opportunities for investors.
The NAR index uses government data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau for population and migration. For office, it measures growth in professional and business services employment. Industrial tracks manufacturing, transportation and warehousing employment growth. Retail measures retail trade and leisure and hospitality employment growth. Multifamily incorporates population growth and net domestic and international migration.
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