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Outpatient Care Is Becoming Valued Member of Mixed-Use Developments

John Nelson — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 11:30:00 +0000

By Emily Buchanan of Gensler For decades, healthcare delivery was something that happened somewhere else: a hospital campus on the edge of town, a medical office park behind a parking garage, a clinic that required a car and a calendar. Today, patient expectations have shifted. Health systems chase convenience, and outpatient facilities are moving closer to where people live. For mixed-use developers, that shift represents one of the most compelling value propositions available: healthcare not as a use, but as an amenity. The case isn’t complicated. Locating outpatient clinics within a mixed-use development improves quality of life for residents, provides healthcare tenants with a stable and captive patient base and gives medical staff a commute that doesn’t erode the beginning and end of every shift. When all three outcomes land in the same project, developers are not just filling square footage; they are building a functioning community. Developer’s perspective Healthcare tenants are, by almost every measure, among the most valuable tenants a mixed-use developer can attract. They sign long-term leases, they withstand economic downturns, and they generate consistent daily foot traffic that benefits the retail and food-and-beverage tenants around them. Pharmacies, fitness studios and cafés thrive when an outpatient clinic…

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Multifamily Operators Seek Competitive Edge

Kristin Harlow — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 12:57:13 +0000

The multifamily industry is facing a number of headwinds such as high operating costs, increased vacancy and stagnant rent growth. Property managers are leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and focusing on recruitment and retention of workers as solutions. There’s also a strong emphasis on resident satisfaction, with the goal of providing top-notch maintenance and property events to help secure lease renewals. In June 2025, operational expenses in multifamily assets were roughly 39 percent above where they were prior to the pandemic, according to commercial real estate data analytics firm RealPage. In the first quarter of 2026, three of the six apartment market regions that CBRE tracks posted negative year-over-year rent growth (Mountain, South Central and Southeast). The national vacancy rate was 4.8 percent, up slightly from a year ago but down 20 basis points from fourth-quarter 2025, according to CBRE. Amid these pressures, the role of the property manager is vital in helping shape resident satisfaction and maximizing operational efficiencies. Jim Cunningham, president of Marquette Management in Naperville, Illinois, says the multifamily industry is in a period of transition. “Operators are navigating higher operating costs, increased regulatory scrutiny and a more value-conscious renter, all while expectations for service and experience continue…

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Lee & Associates’ Q2 Report: Office, Retail Markets Gain Momentum as Industrial, Multifamily Face Headwinds

Sarah Daniels — Thu, 06 Aug 2026 11:00:00 +0000

The Lee & Associates’ 2026 Q2 North America Market Report finds that commercial real estate fundamentals are improving, but the pace of recovery varies significantly by property type and market. Office and retail sectors are showing renewed momentum, industrial demand continues to recover unevenly amid trade uncertainty and multifamily fundamentals are stabilizing as new supply begins to moderate. Across all sectors, investors and occupiers remain highly selective in an evolving market. Sponsored: Download Lee & Associates’ 2026 Q2 North America Market Report. Industrial Overview: Recovering Demand Is Uneven Amid Trade Tensions Demand for North American industrial space in the second quarter continued to recover from slowing caused by heightened trade uncertainties that began early last year. Modest tenant expansion in the United States remains well off pre-COVID average growth. In the United States, 44.4 million square feet of net absorption in the second quarter brought the mid-year total to 77.1 million square feet, about 30 percent less than the pre-pandemic five-year average. First-half deliveries fell to 93 million square feet, which included 44.4 million square feet in the first quarter — the least in seven years. Although supply additions have moderated, the pullback in tenant demand over the past three years…

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What’s Next for the U.S. Office Market?

Matthew Auchincloss — Tue, 04 Aug 2026 15:47:25 +0000

By Matthew Auchincloss The U.S. office sector may never be going back to pre-pandemic utilization levels, but enough time has elapsed and data compiled to make the case that the asset class is stabilizing. According to data from CoStar Group, leasing activity remained steady in the second quarter of 2026, with 115 million square feet of new leases signed (renewals were not included in the data). That remains approximately 9 percent below the quarterly average from 2015 through 2019 but is far above the leasing volume from 2020 and 2021. The national vacancy rate is down 50 basis points from one year ago and 20 basis points in the past quarter, currently sitting at around 18 percent, according to CoStar. Rental rates are also up, averaging approximately $38.06 per square foot nationally — a 2.3 percent increase from last year, according to Colliers. Class A rates currently sit around $43.76 per square foot, with a sharp divide between commercial business district (CBD) rates and suburban product. CBD rates dropped 10 basis points from the first quarter, but the $52.52 per square foot price tag is still up slightly year-over year (70 basis points). Suburban rates are much lower at approximately…

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Beyond the Mirages: Finding Yield in a Normalized Real Estate Market

Kristin Harlow — Thu, 30 Jul 2026 12:30:00 +0000

By Dan Levitt, Ryan Cos. If it feels like the commercial real estate market has been running in place for the last three years, you’re not alone. There has been a sense of anticipation, and even inaction, that has defined the landscape as we waited for catalysts that have yet to materialize. Many of us have been distracted, looking for silver bullets in Federal Reserve rate cuts, anticipating a flood of distressed deals or chasing niche returns in preferred equity. However, these distractions have obscured possible opportunities. To break the stalemate and drive the next recovery, we must shift our focus from these mirages and get back to the fundamentals of traditional equity investing. The 10-year reality The most widely accepted misconception in our industry right now is that Federal Reserve rate cuts will serve as the silver bullet for commercial real estate — though expectations for rate cuts have diminished significantly lately. Over the past several years, even as short-term interest rates have come down by over 150 basis points, we’ve seen headline after headline anticipating that new reductions to the federal funds rate will compress cap rates and send valuations rising again. This notion fundamentally misinterprets how institutional…

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Resilient Demand in Key Regions Supports Multifamily Through Midyear Challenges

Sarah Daniels — Tue, 28 Jul 2026 11:00:00 +0000

By Ann Atkinson, Regions Real Estate Capital Markets Midway through 2026, the multifamily industry appears to be holding steady. By many accounts, fundamentals are weathering uncertainties across the economy, job markets and geopolitical arenas. While some key metrics have softened, the overall health of the apartments sector demonstrates how essential this class of real estate is. Simply stated, everyone needs a safe place to call home. Sustained demand for rental units remains central to the sector’s health, and conditions in the for-sale market continue to shape that demand directly. For many households, homeownership has become increasingly out of reach. Affordability has eroded sharply over the past decade, driven by land use restrictions, constrained housing supply and a widening gap between mortgage costs and income, according to an October Goldman Sachs’ U.S. outlook for housing supply and affordability. Elevated interest rates in recent years have only added to the strain. Together, these factors are keeping many Americans in rentals far longer than they might have planned. Even with strong demand, the apartments market isn’t without challenges. The industry is still working through the surge in new unit supply that hit the market over the past few years. As a result, rents…

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The Middle-Income Housing Gap Is Hiding in Plain Sight: Buildings We’ve Already Built

Taylor Williams — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 11:50:00 +0000

By Danny Fishman, CEO, co-founder, GAIA Real Estate The country’s broader middle class is facing a housing crisis: a growing gap in available, high-quality rental options. High-demand markets like Miami and New York City are now appearing in headlines on two lists at once. Miami is called out as oversupplied but is also pointed to as one of the least affordable rental markets in the country. New York City has a supply shortage with population decreasing in recent years, and still rents go up. The new supply of rental units flooding Sun Belt markets are mostly in Class A buildings with full amenities. Therefore, less quality options are available to middle-income renters. Much of the industry is shying away from this gap, but it’s crucial that developers, cities and states start pushing toward it. Major institutional investors have historically chased luxury or affordable housing at the extremes, partially due to the real estate market’s — both private and public sectors — failure to foresee the widening income gap. As the economy split, households got pushed toward the higher and lower ends, while the middle thinned out. At the same time, renters and buyers were looking for apartments with nice…

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InterFace: Build-to-Rent Developers Navigate Uncertainty Stemming from ROAD to Housing Law, Picky Renters

Matthew Auchincloss — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 11:30:00 +0000

By Matthew Auchincloss CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The multifamily build-to-rent (BTR) market in the Carolinas is the most competitive it’s ever been. According to Louis Smart, senior vice president at CBRE, more than 22,000 townhomes and single-family rental (SFR) units were delivered in the Carolinas over the past three years, and developers are jostling for position to handle it. “We’re reacting as probably most of our peers are reacting: scratching and clawing through lease-up, being as creative as we can, spending money that we really don’t want to spend from a marketing and advertising perspective trying to differentiate the product as much as possible, leaning into the fact that we believe we’ve picked good locations,” adds Andy Lucas, principal at Beauxwright. Lucas was a speaker on a panel titled, “Build-to-Rent in the Carolinas: Headwinds, Tailwinds and What Comes Next?” The panel was part of the lineup at InterFace Carolinas Multifamily, an information and networking conference that took place on May 21 at the Hilton Charlotte Uptown. Smart was the panel moderator. 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. Other panelists included Eric…

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Retail Real Estate Enters New Era of Confidence, Say JLL Survey Takers

Abby Cox — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 11:45:00 +0000

CHICAGO — After years of uncertainty fueled by inflation, rising interest rates and changing consumer behavior, retail real estate has entered a notably different phase. According to JLL’s 2026 U.S. Retail Thematic Outlook and Investor Survey, the sector is no longer in recovery mode — it’s operating from a position of strength. Retail activity surged in the first quarter of the year as transaction volume hit $13.5 billion, a 5 percent year-over-year increase. Concurrently, the trailing 12-month volume climbed to $62 billion, representing a 31 percent increase over the previous period. Retail now accounts for its highest share of U.S. sector investment in a decade, sitting at 14 percent. The survey of nearly 150 retail investors paints a picture of a market supported by historically limited new supply, healthy consumer demand and renewed investor confidence. While broader economic concerns remain, the outlook suggests retail has become one of commercial real estate’s most compelling investment narratives, driven by strong fundamentals. One of the clearest indicators of that confidence is investor appetite. Nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of respondents said they expect to increase retail acquisitions in 2026, while fewer than half (48 percent) anticipate selling more assets. The imbalance between buyers and…

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Build-to-Rent Thrives on Renter Retention

Taylor Williams — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 11:57:00 +0000

By Taylor Williams Whether by choice or necessity, the share of Americans who rent rather than own their homes is on the rise. Compared to the counterparts in the traditional multifamily space, owners and operators of build-to-rent (BTR) properties believe that they are in some ways better positioned to capitalize on this trend. And according to some professionals who own and operate these properties, resident retention is a powerful supportive factor behind this sentiment. Ty Robinson, president at Dallas-based ONM Living, the BTR division of HistoryMaker Homes, says that the majority of his company’s residents are experienced renters who are coming from traditional apartments. Robinson has observed that while these individuals may take longer to formally sign a lease for a BTR home than they would a regular apartment, all other factors being held equal, once they’re in, they tend to stick around. “Given the price point — we typically see premiums of 10 to 30 percent relative to traditional multifamily — and the weight of the decision, it often takes those people longer to commit, but they’re not as transient,” Robinson says. “These residents are staying longer, and as experienced renters, they don’t typically need as much oversight from…

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University Retirement Communities Make the Grade

Hayden Spiess — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 15:45:24 +0000

By Hayden Spiess At first glance, mixing university students in their late teens and early 20s with senior living residents might seem too unconventional to succeed. “These are two completely different worlds,” concedes Andrew Carle, president of Carle Consulting. “You cannot find a bigger odd couple than bureaucratic universities focused on 20-year-olds and fast-moving senior living providers that are focused on 80-year-olds. Bringing those worlds together is hard.” Even so, the premise of university retirement communities (URCs) does exactly that, and Carle is one of the property type’s strongest proponents. More than 80 URCs are currently open throughout the U.S., according to UniversityRetirementCommunities.com, which is an online resource established and operated by Carle. The proliferation of these niche properties marks a stark contrast from a few decades ago, when the first URCs began to pop up. Those first communities included Meadowood at Indiana University, which opened in 1983, and Green Hills at Iowa State, which was built in 1986. Carle describes those two pioneering communities as “organically built” properties, rather than “intentionally built” URCs. “Most of the early ones were organically built,” explains Carle. “They didn’t even know what they were doing, frankly.” As interest in senior living communities…

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Competition Is Fierce for Quality Retail Spaces

Kristin Harlow — Tue, 23 Jun 2026 12:30:00 +0000

Today, there’s a multitude of factors shaping the retail leasing market. Smaller footprints, the influence of technology, changing lifestyles of younger generations, limited new supply and backfilling closures are just some of the most prominent storylines. As of the first quarter, the national retail vacancy rate held stable at 4.4 percent, up 10 basis points from the prior quarter, according to Colliers, which covers malls, shopping centers and general retail across 390 markets. “The market remains structurally tight due to limited new supply and steady backfill demand,” summarizes the brokerage firm in its first-quarter “U.S. Retail Market Statistics” report. “A clear bifurcation persists, with tight availability for small spaces and more modest availability among large anchor boxes.” In a nutshell, today’s retailers prioritize smaller, more efficient spaces with strong visibility, easy access and co-tenancy with established traffic drivers along with the flexibility to support omnichannel operations, says Ron Goldstone, executive vice president at NAI Farbman in Farmington Hills, Michigan. In the first quarter of the year, Continental Realty Corp. executed deals with tenants in the health and wellness category, service-oriented uses, food-and-beverage, children’s schools, entertainment and various franchise concepts in the 1,500- to 2,000-square-foot range, according to Kristina O’Keefe, senior…

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InterFace: Industrial Developers Are Fielding More Atypical Requirements from Tenants

John Nelson — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 12:00:00 +0000

During his keynote address at InterFace I-85 Industrial Corridor, a two-day conference held May 19-20 at the Hilton Uptown Charlotte, Gregg Healy, executive vice president and head of industrial services at Savills, shared a quote from Charles Darwin to end his presentation. “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most adaptable to change.” 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. Industrial owners and developers have had to be adaptable given the haymakers issued by macroeconomic forces the past several years. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they rode the reinvigorated demand wave for e-commerce fulfillment with large-scale developments in key transportation corridors. In the following years, they scaled down their pipelines to focus on smaller, more targeted requirements as construction and capital costs rose significantly. And since Liberation Day, when the Trump administration declared a sweeping package of tariffs for foreign trade partners and specific commodities in April 2025, industrial developers have been building and leasing facilities for domestic and global manufacturers that were nearshoring their investments. Today, owners and…

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Retailers Move Beyond Leasing to Legacy Ownership

John Nelson — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 11:45:00 +0000

Earlier this year, Publix Super Markets purchased a portfolio of six Publix-anchored shopping centers in the Southeast for $130.4 million. The Lakeland, Fla.-based grocer has been aggressively growing its ownership portfolio of shopping centers as the company sees value in being its own landlord. Other large anchors like Walmart and Dillard’s have also purchased shopping centers and malls in recent months. Jason Donald, managing director of retail investment sales at Franklin Street, says that it’s not just the big box anchors that are getting in on the trend. Donald represents an undisclosed retail bank that is pursuing this strategy, which he says is becoming more popular as the capital markets make the ownership model more viable, especially for high creditworthy tenants. “With interest rates coming down and money being readily available, the propensity is shifting that tenants now want to own their own assets,” says Donald. “We’re seeing less leasing and more propensity to own, banks and gas stations especially are getting on that train. That’s the shift in the market we’re seeing more than anything else.” REBusinessOnline recently caught up with Donald to discuss the buyer pool for retail properties, as well as other investment sales trends including the…

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InterFace: Concessions Remain an Operational Necessity for Multifamily Stakeholders

John Nelson — Thu, 11 Jun 2026 12:00:00 +0000

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Midway through a panel discussion comprising apartment operators, moderator Stephanie Garris, director and head of North Carolina at property management firm Arqline, asked the panelists for one thing in multifamily operations that they wish they could stop doing tomorrow. “Offering concessions,” said Dallas Green, regional vice president of RPM Living. “Dallas stole my answer,” said Sherry Yarborough, director of multifamily management Southeast at Drucker & Falk. 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. The panelists were part of InterFace Carolinas Multifamily, an annual networking and information conference held on May 21 at the Hilton Charlotte Uptown. The conference, hosted by InterFace Conference Group and Southeast Real Estate Business, brought in 273 attendees. Concessions often take the form of free rent for a set period, typically one or two months. Renters at newly delivered properties can get up to three months of free rent in some markets today, with longer rent-free periods reserved for those who sign longer term leases or for signing a lease within 24 to 48 hours of touring the property. Yarborough said…

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How Developers Can Prioritize Successful Adaptive Reuse Lending Relationships

Taylor Williams — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 12:00:00 +0000

By John Garrett of Enterprise Bank & Trust Driven by an ongoing shift in demand and industry-specific needs from commercial real estate space, adaptive reuse projects can transform existing underutilized buildings into new and more functional spaces. Offices and retail properties can be reimagined for shared or added functionality, or in some cases, reconfigured for entirely different purposes, including residential use. These projects allow developers to capitalize on opportunistic investment into value-add acquisitions, as well as tenant-driven opportunities. However, the size of these transitional, sub-institutional development projects creates a unique financial challenge. Many traditional lenders see these as too small and risky, with an aversion to arranging moving pieces to creatively manage tailored financing solutions that are needed to acquire and alter spaces for new opportunities. Transitional development projects don’t involve stabilized properties. Instead, the opportunity lies in repositioning the space to add value, which often means limited cash flow for an interim period while needing immediate access to funds. Creating efficient and flexible banking partnerships can allow real estate developers that are interested in pursuing these projects to scale business in a manner that helps meet a growing demand. How Lending Can Differ Both the complexity and varying size…

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InterFace Panel: Affordable Housing Deal Flow Gains Momentum as Brokers Turn Bullish

Abby Cox — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 11:45:00 +0000

ATLANTA — For much of the past two years, affordable housing transactions in the Southeast moved at a measured pace, slowed by severe cost burdens on both renters and prospective buyers and widening supply deficits. But inside this year’s InterFace Affordable Housing Southeast show, a networking and information conference held at The Westin Buckhead Atlanta on May 12, the tone has shifted. Phones are ringing again, deals are re-entering the pipeline and investors are showing a renewed willingness to chase affordable housing opportunities across the region. 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. Rachel Chapman, national account executive of Stewart Title Guaranty Co., moderated the discussion, entitled “Brokers, Buyers and Capital.” The investment sales panel notably reverted to a subject and question that’s shaping much of today’s affordable housing market: with elevated borrowing costs and general economic uncertainty, why is transaction activity accelerating? Necessitating that question for developers and brokers are the thorns still present in the industry, such as the lengthy process of securing and pricing loans, interest rate volatility and capital markets shifts. Even with these headwinds,…

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InterFace Panel: Architects Share Solutions to Affordable Housing Delivery Gaps

Kristin Harlow — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 13:49:04 +0000

Affordable housing developers are under pressure to deliver more units at a time when financing, approvals, construction pricing and long development timelines can easily slow projects down. At InterFace Affordable Housing Southeast, architects and construction leaders emphasized the importance of early collaboration among developers, designers, lenders and public-sector partners. They also explored how modular construction, mass timber, light-gauge steel framing and energy-efficient strategies are being used to control costs, shorten schedules and improve long-term operations. The panelists agreed that design decisions in affordable housing are increasingly tied to insurance costs, maintenance expenses and resident quality of life. The panel’s central message: affordable housing must pencil out financially, but it also must be built to best support all aspects of the communities it serves. Read the full story here.

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Utilities, Infrastructure Can Make or Break the Next Cycle of Industrial Development, Say InterFace Panelists

John Nelson — Thu, 28 May 2026 12:00:00 +0000

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The U.S. industrial real estate sector has been on a long rebound from the supply wave following the COVID-19 pandemic. Approximately 2.5 billion square feet of industrial space was delivered between 2020 and 2025, according to data from Cushman & Wakefield. In the Southeast, deliveries were especially pronounced, most notably in the high-growth I-85 industrial corridor that spans from Montgomery, Ala., to south Richmond, Va. The 666-mile interstates traverses through Atlanta, Greenville-Spartanburg, Charlotte, the Piedmont Triad (Greensboro, High Point and Winston-Salem) and Raleigh-Durham. 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. Gregg Healy, executive vice president and head of industrial services at Savills, says that since the beginning of 2022, nearly 250 million square feet of industrial space has been delivered along the I-85 corridor, which has taken longer to be absorbed than anticipated. “We were oversupplied, not just in the I-85 corridor, but nationally, because of the post-COVID boom when everyone was developing,” says Healy. “But vacancy rates did drop in the first quarter of 2026 for the first time in three…

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A Winning Recipe for Office Conversions

Kristin Harlow — Tue, 19 May 2026 12:30:00 +0000

The number of underutilized office buildings being converted into apartment units continues to steadily rise, largely due to the acceptance that the post-COVID hybrid work format is here to stay. At the start of 2026, the national office-to-apartment conversion pipeline reached 90,300 units, up 28 percent year over year and nearly four times larger than in 2022, according to RentCafe, a sister company of Yardi Matrix. Office conversions now account for almost half (47 percent) of all planned adaptive reuse projects nationwide (roughly 90,300 apartments out of 193,900 planned projects). Behind New York City and Washington, D.C., Chicago ranks third on the list for the largest office-to-apartment conversions pipeline, according to RentCafe. Cleveland and Cincinnati round out the top 10. Five other Midwest markets — Detroit, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Milwaukee and St. Louis — are included in the top 20. These cities are deploying combinations of tax-increment financing (TIF), local tax abatements, Housing Trust Fund dollars and historic tax credits to support office conversions in their downtown districts, says Al Fiesel, commercial business unit leader at Chicago-based LJC Design & Engineering. “The specific tools differ by market, but the underlying premise recognizes that public participation is the mechanism that makes…

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