LAS VEGAS — Ranking No. 7 and No. 8, respectively, Manhattan and Jersey City are both among the Top 10 markets to watch in terms of overall real estate prospects, according to the Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2026 report, which is jointly produced every year by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and accounting firm PwC. No other Northeast cities or municipalities cracked the Top 20, although the Northern New Jersey region as a whole secured the No. 15 spot.
According to the report’s authors, Manhattan’s ranking represents major improvement in real estate fundamentals across numerous asset classes; the borough ranked as low as 42nd in 2022. More specifically, the report stated that “Manhattan’s recovery is among the most diversified of the profiled markets, with simultaneous strengthening across [the] office, retail and tourism [sectors] and a substantial infrastructure pipeline that reinforces the market’s long-term competitive position.”
As the largest U.S. office market by inventory, Manhattan has always had the toughest road to recovery in the post-COVID era. However, absorption found a fresh catalyst in 2025 and 2026 in the form of AI [artificial intelligence] companies, which accounted for 2.8 million square feet of leasing activity in 2026 alone and 3.8 million square feet over the past two years. In addition, some 6 million square feet of office-to-residential conversion projects are set to kick off next year, further reducing the supply of obsolete office space.
The borough’s housing market remain notoriously supply-constrained, having only added about 7,500 new units since 2025. But the report noted that the recent volume of new deliveries within the metro area represents something of a cyclical high. In addition, the report found that multifamily investment volume in Manhattan is trending toward pre-pandemic levels: nearly $3 billion in volume year-to-date, which puts the market on pace to sniff at the 2019 volume of $3.6 billion.
Jersey City took home the silver medal in last year’s rankings thanks in large part to a massive volume of new multifamily construction starts and deliveries. With scores of new units coming on line and new projects still penciling, Jersey City remains a low[er]-cost alternative to Manhattan that retains its ease of connectivity to the country’s business and financial hub, as well as its own unique food-and-beverage and nightlife scenes.