Features

Q&A: PwC Executive and ‘Emerging Trends’ Chair Details the Foggy Road Ahead for Commercial Real Estate

by Taylor Williams January 22, 2026

Interview by John Nelson What a difference a year can make. At this time last year, real estate professionals displayed a sense of confidence and optimism about their 2025 prospects. This year, tariffs, government shutdowns and stubborn inflation have led to a general sense of unease for the year ahead. So finds Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2026, the latest installment of the annual outlook for the commercial real estate industry that PwC and the Urban Land Institute (ULI) jointly publish. The organizations surveyed more than 1,700 stakeholders — including brokers, developers, investors and lenders — in this year’s report, which was adequately themed “Navigating the Fog.” REBusinessOnline recently caught up with Andrew Alperstein, real estate partner at PwC and editorial chair of the Emerging Trends report, to discuss creating the report, the resurgence of the Northeast and the health of several sectors, including seniors housing, self-storage and office. What follows is an edited interview: REBusinessOnline: Were there any surprises in the data or interview process as PwC and Urban Land Institute created ‘2026 Emerging Trends in Real Estate’? Andrew Alperstein: I’m involved in a lot of the interviews that we do, and I see the survey results and work with a …

January 22, 2026

In An Era of Complex Conversions, How Can Office, Housing Markets Become Rebalanced?

by Taylor Williams January 20, 2026

By Robert Likes, president, community development lending and investment, affordable housing, KeyBank The nation’s housing crisis has reached a breaking point, pushing developers to rethink how and where new supply can be created. Among the most promising — and debated — solutions is the conversion of underutilized office buildings into much-needed affordable housing. On the surface, the concept seems straightforward: repurpose empty office space into homes in locations where demand is highest. In practice, however, these projects are anything but simple. Converting office buildings into livable, modern and affordable multifamily residences requires far more than reimagining floor plans. Success depends on choosing the right property, assembling a complex capital stack and deploying an experienced team capable of navigating regulatory, design and construction challenges. Done right, these conversions not only add critical housing supply but also breathe new life into urban centers struggling with high office vacancies. The Case for Conversions The United States has too much office space and not enough housing units, particularly for low-income households. Office-to-residential conversion projects help to equalize the supply-demand imbalance in both asset classes. According to the National Low-Income Housing Coalition, we are short 7.1 million rental homes for extremely low-income households. As a result, many …

January 20, 2026

Features

The Culture of Connection: Reimagining Real Estate for Human Well-Being

by Abby Cox January 15, 2026

By Barry B. Scherr, co-founder of the Sundar Corporation The biggest real estate opportunity of our time is to re-establish human connection as an essential part of everyday life. Developers everywhere are trying to understand what comes next. After decades of escalating amenities, bigger gyms, curated rooftops, spas, lounges, wellness centers, coworking labs, landscaped lawns, and multisensory lobbies, the industry has reached a plateau. The arms race for “more” has begun to feel like diminishing returns. What people are seeking now is not another feature, but another feeling: less isolation disguised as privacy, and more meaningful human presence; fewer transactional touchpoints, and more belonging woven into everyday experience. The market is signaling a shift: the true differentiator has become intention over amenities. We are not lacking infrastructure, we are craving a new way to approach place, purpose, and the role of real estate itself. The Impossible Equation of Modern Life Society today asks us to do it all. Work full time. Commute long distances. Raise families. Stay fit. Stay connected. Cook meals. Sleep. Recharge. And somehow flourish. The truth is stark: the structure of modern life is impossible to sustain. And the way we’ve built our real estate is partly …

January 15, 2026

Features Office

When RTO Meets ROI — And Lease Management Takes Center Stage

by Taylor Williams January 13, 2026

By Mark McDonald, president of visual lease and CoStar real estate manager The recent shift back to in-person work isn’t a mere passing trend, and it’s forcing companies to reassess their office leases and how they manage them. According to resume.org, industry estimates suggest that around 75 percent of companies that were formerly remote have now implemented some version of RTO (return-to-office) since the pandemic. Many large, publicly traded companies spanning various industries, including tech (Amazon, Dell) and financial services (J.P. Morgan), are requiring employees to work onsite full time. As RTO continues to gain traction, more organizations are closely evaluating their real estate strategies, looking not only at how much space they need, but also where, when and under what terms they need those spaces. As leaders make these difficult and often high-stakes decisions, many executives are recognizing the importance of quality lease portfolio management. This involves tracking, analyzing and optimizing an organization’s leased properties with actions like consolidating space, exiting underused locations or renegotiating existing terms. So how exactly is RTO reshaping lease management, and why is accurate, real-time lease data now a critical asset for fast, informed business decisions? Rethinking Lease Management in the Era of RTO …

January 13, 2026

Conference Coverage Features Georgia Loans Multifamily Multifamily & Affordable Housing Feature Archive Southeast Southeast Feature Archive

InterFace: Multifamily Finance Pros Explain Where Capital Providers Are Placing Their Bets in 2026

by John Nelson January 8, 2026

ATLANTA — Multifamily borrowers have a plethora of financing options at their beck and call, both from traditional debt sources and alternative platforms. With the competition among capital sources on the rise, sponsors are in an advantageous position. “More lenders are chasing multifamily since they’ve taken three commercial real estate food groups off the table — office, retail and hospitality,” explains Shawn Townsend, president and chief investment officer at Ease Capital. However, financing challenges remain. “But by and large the cost of debt capital has not gone down,” Townsend adds. 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. Townsend’s comments came during the capital markets panel at InterFace Multifamily Southeast, a two-day event held Dec. 1-2 at the Intercontinental Buckhead hotel in Atlanta. InterFace Conference Group and sister publications Multifamily & Affordable Housing Business and Southeast Real Estate Business hosted the networking and information conference. Stephen Farnsworth, senior managing director of real estate finance at Walker & Dunlop, moderated the session, which featured five lenders and financial intermediaries. Farnsworth opened by touching on the ebbs and …

January 8, 2026

Acquisitions Content Partner Features Loans Midwest Multifamily Northeast Regions Real Estate Capital Markets Southeast Western

Navigating Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Small Balance Multifamily Loan Programs

by Sarah Daniels January 6, 2026

By Ann Atkinson, Regions Real Estate Capital Markets Most multifamily real estate owners need to finance or refinance their apartment community at some point. Many utilize the small balance multifamily loan programs available through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to do so. Understanding how lenders navigate each phase of the loan cycle can give owners a strategic advantage, especially in a time of elevated rate volatility. A significant amount of multifamily debt is maturing in 2026. Borrowers should not wait to refinance to avoid the concentrated competition later in the year when lenders are faced with refinancing demand. In addition, modest rent growth today offers refinancing upside; and finally, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have higher production caps in 2026, providing more runway for lending. The following overview, based on Regions Real Estate Capital Markets’ experience, outlines five key phases of the process, with helpful tips throughout: 1. Screening and Term Sheet Loan screening kicks off the relationship between borrower and lender. The lender’s production representative often conducts an introductory call with the borrower, who completes an application and provides due diligence items. Access a checklist of items to provide to Regions for screening here. Tip #1: Get all required (and …

January 6, 2026

Conference Coverage Features Multifamily Southeast Feature Archive

InterFace Panel: Tariffs Are a ‘Hot Potato’ When it Comes to Construction Costs

by Kristin Harlow December 23, 2025

ATLANTA — In today’s multifamily development world, architects, designers and general contractors do everything in their power to avoid the one thing they dread most — going back to a developer mid-project to ask for more money. These “uncomfortable moments,” as Lori Ann Dinkins, president and CEO of Mood Interior Design, called them, happen more often these days thanks to rising costs, tariffs and collaboration snafus. Dinkins led a panel of architects, interior designers and general contractors through a bevy of topics — good, bad and ugly — that define the current state of building and designing apartments at InterFace Conference Group’s Multifamily Southeast event. The event took place over the course of two days at the InterContinental Buckhead in Atlanta. 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. Residents and developers alike are taking a more practical, less playful approach when it comes to stylizing apartments. Gone are the days of “those huge show-stopper, Instagram-moment amenity spaces,” said Ian Hunter, regional director at Atlanta-based Dwell Design Studio. “They’re out. And they’re out for a couple of reasons. Not …

December 23, 2025

Conference Coverage Features Multifamily

InterFace Panel: Oversupply, Costs Remain Key Obstacles to Underwriting, Financing New Multifamily Projects

by Taylor Williams December 18, 2025

ATLANTA — Jason Nettles, managing director at Northmarq’s Atlanta office, is well-versed on the recent history of U.S. apartment deliveries, knowledge that came in handy for launching discussion among developers at the 16th annual InterFace Multifamily Southeast conference. Nettles moderated a panel of five regional developers, all of whom also share keen awareness of just how much new multifamily product U.S. markets — particularly those in the highly desirable Sun Belt regions — have added in recent years. In these areas, supply growth is both a dominant narrative on the surface of the multifamily development scene and an invisible hand that guides business decisions behind that scene. Massive blips in supply, whether positive or negative, impact key facets of underwriting, including rent growth assumptions and concessions, as well as financing terms on both the debt and equity sides of the capital markets. Those figures and assumptions must then be evaluated against hard costs of development, which as a rule do not decline over time, but rather grow at varying paces. 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. All …

December 18, 2025

Features Industrial

Built for Every Cycle: The Staying Power of Shallow Bay Industrial

by Taylor Williams December 17, 2025

By Cliff Booth, founder & chairman, Westmount Realty Capital Shallow bay industrial, often defined as product with suites between 2,000 and 30,000 square feet, has proven to be a resilient and attractive commercial real estate investment for the past four decades. Today, a combination of persistent tenant demand, flexible space configurations, favorable lease structures and limited new supply continues to drive investor interest in this subcategory of industrial product, including increased institutional capital flows. Shallow bay industrial remains a standout in commercial real estate portfolios — here’s why. Consistent Tenant Demand, Diversification Shallow bay industrial properties cater to a broad spectrum of users, ranging from local contractors and logistics providers to regional distributors and e-commerce firms. These tenants are drawn to highly functional suites that support frequent changes in business operations, from manufacturing to last-mile delivery. Research from JLL shows that over the past decade, the annual average leasing volume in the shallow bay category has been about 250 million square feet, evidencing stable demand through multiple economic cycles. The multi-tenant structure of shallow bay buildings reduces single-tenant risk and enhances asset stability. A project might host five to 50 tenants, with no single occupant accounting for more than 10 percent …

December 17, 2025

District of Columbia Features Southeast Southeast Feature Archive

BLS: U.S. Economy Adds 64,000 Jobs in November but Loses 105,000 in October

by John Nelson December 16, 2025

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. economy has added 64,000 non-farm payroll jobs in November and lost 105,000 jobs in October, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The BLS included the October figures into the November report due to complications with the federal government shutdown, which lasted for 44 days in October and early November. The bureau, which also delayed the release of the consumer price index and producer price index in October, plans to release the December jobs report on Jan. 9, 2026. The November figure was higher than the 45,000 estimate from Dow Jones economists, according to CNBC. The news outlet also reported that the economists didn’t make an official estimate for the October report but were largely anticipating a drop in employment. In addition to the delayed report, the BLS also revised downward the employment figures for August, from a loss of 4,000 jobs to -26,000, and September, from 119,000 jobs to 108,000. The U.S. unemployment rate also ticked up 20 basis points from September to 4.6 percent in November, its highest level since September 2021. Federal government employment continued to decrease in November with a loss of 6,000 jobs. This follows a decline of …

December 16, 2025

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