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Conference CoverageMarket ReportsRetailTexasTexas Market Reports

InterFace Panel: Future-Oriented, Suburban Strategies Needed to Crack Austin Retail Market

by Taylor Williams

By Taylor Williams AUSTIN, TEXAS — A successful real estate strategy for both developers and operators looking to penetrate Austin’s airtight retail market must involve both a long-term growth plan and a site selection process that primarily targets suburban areas. Austin’s sizzling pace of population growth has slowed in the past year or two, but the state capital remains highly undersupplied in terms of housing. Land and other development costs have become frightfully expensive within the urban core, and like other Texas markets, Austin is emerging from a multifamily building boom within its urban core and first-ring suburbs. In addition, vacant, quality retail space within those areas of Austin is a rare commodity. Earlier this year, the Austin-American Statesman, citing data from Weitzman, reported that Austin had a marketwide retail vacancy rate of just 3 percent at the end of 2025. And according to a first-quarter 2025 report from Partners Real Estate, Austin’s retail occupancy rate has not dipped below 95 percent at any point in the past decade. Editor’s note: InterFace Conference Group, a division of France Media Inc., produces networking and educational conferences for commercial real estate executives. To sign up for email announcements about specific events, visit www.interfaceconferencegroup.com/subscribe. As such, …

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Market ReportsOfficeSoutheastSoutheast Market ReportsTennesseeUncategorized

Nashville’s Office Market Is Defined by Resiliency, Momentum

by John Nelson

With office leasing and development, we’re always looking forward to the next big thing. Nashville’s office market is no exception to that. Sometimes no news is good news, though. That may be the case with the metro’s office development, where only four projects totaling 279,320 square feet were underway at the close of 2025 — 44.1 percent of which was preleased. At the beginning of 2020, Nashville’s construction pipeline was nearly 10 percent of its inventory size — the second-highest share out of any U.S. metro.  Since then, 8.5 million square feet of office product has been delivered, and despite overlapping with a global pandemic, nearly 80 percent of it has been leased — underscoring the market’s appetite for quality office space. While that office space has not been absorbed as quickly as some had hoped, market trends and activity suggest that nearly 90 percent of it will be absorbed by the end of 2026, proving the Nashville office market’s resilience.  As we approach the end of the first quarter, Nashville’s office market is off to a good start, despite some uncooperative icy weather. Although local tenants continue to lead occupancy growth, sizable multi-market requirements have continued to increase, pushing …

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GeorgiaMarket ReportsMixed-UseRestaurantRetailSoutheastSoutheast Market Reports

How Mixed-Use Is Evolving in North Georgia

by John Nelson

Mixed-use development across the Southeast continues to change and evolve. What was once as straightforward as building residential apartments located above a street-level retail component has become something far more sophisticated and intentional. Today’s mixed-use communities offer integrated, experience-driven environments where all elements of living, working, shopping, dining and recreation are thoughtfully curated, with connectivity as a primary focus. The North Georgia region, located approximately 40 miles north of Atlanta, is where residential demand is rising, incomes are growing and consumer preferences are changing. As these trends converge, developers seek the opportunity to create true neighborhood hubs in the area. The Crossing at Coal Mountain, located in Forsyth County, is a new 140-acre mixed-use destination by Atlantic Residential that reflects how development strategies are evolving in response to these market shifts. The project will feature walkable streets, activated green spaces, local dining, daily lifestyle services and a carefully programmed retail plaza alongside luxury homes being developed in partnership with national homebuilder Toll Brothers. Each of the project’s planned elements is designed to support a true live-work-play environment. Phase I of the project’s retail district is on track to open this year, positioning the development to contribute to the region’s broader …

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Market ReportsMichiganMidwestMidwest Market ReportsOffice

Flight to Quality, Slow Road to Reinvention Define Detroit’s Office Outlook

by Kristin Harlow

By Andy Gutman, Farbman Group The Detroit office market has moved past the initial shock of the post-pandemic years, but the idea that all challenges are over would be premature. Looking ahead in 2026, office in Detroit would be best described as stabilizing but still highly selective, shaped by a continued flight to quality, cautious capital markets and a growing emphasis on service and tenant experience.  While vacancy remains elevated compared with pre-pandemic norms, limited new construction and a clear bifurcation between high- and low-quality assets are helping prevent further deterioration. The next phase of the cycle will be defined by how effectively landlords adapt to tenant expectations and how long it takes for capital markets to allow older assets to meaningfully change hands. Detroit office in 2026 By the numbers, Detroit’s office market in 2026 shows stability without significant growth pressure. Vacancy estimates range from approximately 15.7 to 23.3 percent, depending on data source and asset class. Marcus & Millichap, for example, projects a 2026 year-end vacancy of roughly 15.7 percent, which is a modest 10-basis-point increase year-over-year. Broader datasets that include older inventory report vacancy closer to 23 percent. Asking rents have remained largely flat, with Class A …

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ArkansasDevelopmentHospitalityMarket ReportsSoutheastSoutheast Market Reports

By Flipping the Script on Value Engineering, AI ‘Saves’ Arkansas Hotel Project

by John Nelson

How did The Fay hotel in Fayetteville, Ark., save $500,000 mid-construction? How are other apartment, office and mixed-use developments doing the same, across the construction cycle? Developers are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence (AI) to flip the script on the challenge of value engineering that often dumbs-down original design plans. Value engineering is almost a constant in the business: A project is designed and priced during the feasibility and entitlement stage but three, four or five years later when construction starts, prices have jumped while the budget is the same. And prices go up for many reasons, such as materials costs, labor costs or regulatory issues — even for import tariffs, as we’ve seen the past year. But maybe we’re blaming the wrong culprit in giving “value engineering” a negative connotation.Now it’s time for the procurement process to take its turn in preserving value and design. Saving despite tariffsProactive procurement led to a half-million-dollar savings for real estate investor/developer Dwellist at its Fayetteville project. Dwellist is transforming a decades-old motel near the University of Arkansas into The Fay, its first Motelier-branded property, a full adaptive-reuse. Recently, materials ordering was running into cost-overruns that risked putting the overall project over budget. …

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Market ReportsNortheastNortheast Market Reports

Northeast Reader Forecast Survey: 2026 Is Anybody’s Guess

by Taylor Williams

By Taylor Williams The roller coaster ride continues.  That’s more or less the joint takeaway from Northeast Real Estate Business’ annual reader forecast surveys for commercial brokers and developers/owners. For if the past 12 months have revealed anything about the economic and geopolitical factors that impact deal volume, investor sentiment and overall industry health, it’s that those dynamics are wildly unpredictable and highly subject to change.  In last year’s survey, respondents across both groups expressed optimism — albeit guarded — for better business prospects in 2025. The incoming Trump administration was viewed as pro-business, and the previous year had ended with a trio of long-awaited cuts to short-term interest rates. Capital sources on both the debt and equity sides of the market envisioned a new, more prosperous chapter in 2025 as 2024 closed with subsided inflation, healthy job growth and less volatility in the 10-year Treasury yield.  Editor’s note: In mid-November, Northeast Real Estate Business sent email invitations to participate in the annual online survey to three separate groups — brokers; developers, owners and managers; and lenders and financial intermediaries. The survey was held open through mid-December. Invitations to participate were also included in the Northeast Real Estate Business e-newsletter, as …

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IndustrialMarket ReportsSoutheastSoutheast Market ReportsTennessee

Nashville’s Industrial Market: A Resilient Powerhouse in 2026

by John Nelson

As Nashville closes out 2025, the industrial market has solidified its reputation as a resilient powerhouse in the Southeast. With record investment volumes exceeding $2.2 billion and vacancy rates remaining well below national averages, the Nashville MSA continues to attract distributors, manufacturers, and data center-related businesses. This robust performance reflects a recalibration from pandemic-era highs while maintaining durable demand, setting the stage for balanced growth in 2026. Trends shaping the market Several macroeconomic trends are influencing Nashville’s industrial landscape. Nearshoring/onshoring and supply chain diversification have heightened the city’s appeal as a logistical hub. It is important to note that Nashville is strategically located within a day’s drive of over half the U.S. population.  Locally, job growth has outpaced the national average, with Oxford Economics reporting a 1.1 percent increase in 2025, bolstered by gains in manufacturing, logistics and retail. Notably, Moody’s Analytics highlights transportation equipment manufacturing as a key driver, as automakers increase domestic production to mitigate tariffs.  Further enhancing Nashville’s logistical capabilities, the planned expansion of air freight capacity at Nashville International Airport in 2027 is poised to solidify the region’s role in cargo throughput, supported by a robust highway network and a growing labor force. Despite broader economic …

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CivicHospitalityMarket ReportsMichiganMidwestMidwest Market ReportsMultifamilyOffice

Detroit Developments Showcase Urban Adaptive Reuse, Preservation

by Kristin Harlow

By Michael Poris, McIntosh Poris Architects Long defined by its industrial legacy, Detroit development currently combines ground-up construction with intelligent, innovative adaptive reuse. Brick-and-mortar manufacturing-era remnants include many buildings that originally served the automotive industry. As large-scale manufacturing relocated and Detroit’s population declined, several significant buildings were abandoned. Many are viable for second lives, ones that fulfill current commercial real estate market demands. Adaptive reuse makes sense I co-founded McIntosh Poris in 1994 to protect Detroit’s historic buildings from bulldozers and redesign them for a post-manufacturing economy. At that time, demolition was the most expedient option.  To address this, we focused as much on civic networking and preservation education as architectural design. Implementation involved organizing events with public officials and the local business community to meet leaders of other cities’ successful urban-renewal programs. To make Detroit more attractive to commercial real estate investment, we lobbied for zoning changes. Most relevant, commercial and historic districts were re-evaluated to permit mixed-use redevelopment. Historic preservation became viable, often making sense both financially and culturally. Well before sustainability became a commercial real estate consideration, we educated developers on available adaptive reuse incentives such as historic tax credits. Combined with the inherent efficiencies of reuse, …

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Market ReportsNorth CarolinaRestaurantRetailSoutheastSoutheast Market Reports

Scarcity Shapes Strategy: How Tight Vacancy Is Redefining Retail in Raleigh

by John Nelson

If there is one defining characteristic of the Raleigh-Durham retail market today, it is scarcity. Exceptionally low vacancy — especially in high-quality, well-located centers — has become the norm rather than the exception, fundamentally reshaping leasing dynamics, rent growth and development strategy across the region. As of third-quarter 2025, overall retail vacancy in Raleigh-Durham stood at approximately 2.4 percent, marking four consecutive years below the 3 percent threshold. Even more telling, spaces under 10,000 square feet posted vacancy closer to 1.8 percent, underscoring just how competitive conditions have become for local and regional tenants. This imbalance between demand and supply has placed landlords in a position of sustained leverage, particularly in grocery-anchored centers, strong neighborhood and lifestyle shopping centers or mixed-use environments. Low vacancy matters because it drives outcomes. Lease-ups are happening faster, concessions are increasingly rare in top trade areas and rents continue to trend upward. For tenants, especially those seeking smaller footprints, waiting to engage often means missing opportunities altogether. For owners, the market rewards proactive asset management and disciplined tenant selection. A clear example of this dynamic is Olde Raleigh Village, a grocery-anchored community shopping center that is currently 100 percent leased. With no vacancy to contend …

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IndustrialMarket ReportsMichiganMidwestMidwest Market Reports

Return of the Spec: Metro Detroit’s Next Industrial Chapter

by Kristin Harlow

By Ryan Brittain, Colliers Speculative construction has always carried a certain boldness in industrial real estate. Building without a tenant can either signal visionary thinking or a bold bet on future demand.  In metro Detroit, that confidence was on full display during the post-COVID boom. To meet the surge in tenant demand, highly respected industrial developers raced to deliver modern distribution space across the region. At the height, preleasing was not always necessary but often occurred. Developers pushed forward on new Class A warehouses, confident that tenant requirements would catch up and, for a time, they did. Yet here we are in 2026, and speculative development is not an idea of the past. It is returning, this time with more discipline. This is not another Resurgit cineribus Detroit comeback story, but rather a thoughtful recalibration. The “Return of the Spec” reflects a market that has matured and learned, not one that has overheated. To understand it today, it helps to revisit how we arrived. As a wave of newly completed speculative projects delivered (at one point, the market saw 12 million square feet under construction), availability expanded. Shortly thereafter, the automotive industry hit an uncertain patch in late 2023. Vacancy …

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