Midwest Market Reports Archives - REBusinessOnline

Downtown Chicago’s Office Market Shows Cautious Momentum

Kristin Harlow — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 12:30:00 +0000

By Ben Azulay, Bradford Allen Downtown Chicago’s office market is entering a period defined less by the disruptions of recent years and more by the opportunities taking shape in their wake. Tenants are committing or recommitting to quality space, investors are acquiring assets at more compelling valuations and office-to-residential conversions are removing obsolete supply. Leasing activity pulled back in the first quarter of 2026, with approximately 1.6 million square feet of direct deals completed, according to Bradford Allen’s first-quarter downtown Chicago office market report. That is down from just over 2 million square feet in fourth-quarter 2025. Several notable transactions reflect a market increasingly defined by location and building quality. Global food brand Mars Snacking made the quarter’s most significant commitment, signing a new 169,816-square-foot headquarters lease at Fulton Labs, 400 N. Aberdeen St. in Fulton Market, while also absorbing the 37,672-square-foot former Kellanova space in River North as part of a broader expansion that will bring more than 600 new jobs and $100 million in investment to the city. In its second expansion in the building in four years, IMC Financial Markets leased an additional 104,000 square feet at Willis Tower, bringing its total footprint there to approximately 250,000…

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Southeastern Wisconsin Industrial Market Finds its Footing in 2026

Kristin Harlow — Thu, 25 Jun 2026 12:30:00 +0000

By Jim Larkin, Kyle Fink and Dylan Brown, Colliers After several years of outsized growth, southeastern Wisconsin’s industrial market entered a more balanced phase to begin 2026. While headline metrics such as vacancy and absorption have shifted from their pandemic-era peaks, the underlying fundamentals remain intact. Based on what we are experiencing across active deals and client conversations, this is less of a slowdown and more of a recalibration, one that ultimately supports long-term stability across the region. After many years on an unprecedented pace, the market is settling down into a more disciplined environment where decisions are more thoughtful, and fundamentals are driving activity again. From our perspective, that’s a positive shift that positions southeastern Wisconsin for long-term stability. Year-end 2025 data points to a market that is adjusting, not retreating. Vacancy rates increased modestly, rising to approximately 7.8 percent across southeastern Wisconsin. At first glance, that shift may appear significant given how tight conditions had become. This shift is largely driven by new big box supply entering the market rather than weakening demand. With more than 3 million square feet delivered in 2025 — most started during peak market conditions — an increase in vacancy is a natural…

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Suburban Momentum Reshapes Milwaukee’s Retail Landscape

Kristin Harlow — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 12:30:00 +0000

By Brian Vanevenhoven and Joseph Ziolkowski, Newmark The metro Milwaukee retail market remains strong, supported by historically low vacancy rates. Elevated construction costs — and the resulting pressure on rents — continue to limit new construction, keeping inventory low and occupancy high. The western suburbs have the lowest vacancies in the region and are seeing robust demand for available space. While the urban core continues to face challenges, the Historic Third Ward remains a bright spot, benefiting from favorable demographics and a cultivated consumer base driving strong retail sales. Recent data underscores this trend. While Milwaukee County saw modest population growth in 2025, surrounding suburban counties are expanding at a faster pace, according to CoStar Group. Waukesha County alone has added more than 10,000 residents since 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This outward migration — driven by affordability, schools and lifestyle preferences — is creating new pockets of retail demand across the metro area. Drivers of growth Several factors are fueling suburban retail expansion. The continued strength of experiential retail, particularly in the fitness and wellness sector, is the most notable driver. Concepts such as Crunch Fitness and Planet Fitness have been among the most active tenants,…

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Demand for Logistics, Manufacturing Space Drives Wichita’s Pipeline of Projects

Kristin Harlow — Thu, 11 Jun 2026 12:39:00 +0000

By Grant Glasgow, SIOR, NAI Martens The industrial real estate market across the Wichita metropolitan statistical area (MSA) closed out 2025 with stable fundamentals, a healthy pipeline of projects and strong demand for large-format logistics and manufacturing space. Despite a modest increase in overall vacancy, the market continues to reflect the region’s strategic position as a logistics and manufacturing hub with lasting appeal to both regional users and national firms. Metrics point to equilibrium As of the fourth quarter of 2025, Wichita’s multi-tenant industrial inventory totaled approximately 43.6 million square feet across more than 1,300 buildings. The overall vacancy rate stood at 9 percent, a tick higher than the mid-year figure. While this figure might suggest slack in the market, it is important to note that the rise in vacancy is primarily due to smaller-bay space turning over and the inclusion of buildings actively being marketed but not yet move-in ready, such as the Wichita Business Park redevelopment at the former Towne West Square Mall. For context, the vacancy rate for larger industrial buildings — those over 100,000 square feet — was just 2.8 percent, highlighting a persistent shortage of modern bulk space. Asking rents averaged $6.07 per square foot…

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Wichita Retail Activity Is Focused on High-Performing Corridors

Kristin Harlow — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 12:30:00 +0000

By Don Piros, CCIM, Landmark Commercial Real Estate Wichita’s retail and restaurant market is entering a new phase of evolution, marked by geographic concentration, steady suburban expansion and a wave of long-anticipated national brands entering the city. While overall demand remains stable, activity is increasingly focused in a handful of high-performing corridors, leaving older retail areas to repurpose or transition to new uses. Growth is concentrated in key corridors. Retail momentum in Wichita is strongest on the city’s east and northwest sides. The east side, particularly along Rock Road (Bradley Fair, Towne East Square), Webb Road (The Waterfront) and Greenwich Road (Greenwich Place Shopping Center), continue to attract higher-end retailers and nationally recognized restaurant brands. Strong household incomes and established shopping patterns have made the corridor the most competitive in the region. Meanwhile, northwest Wichita, especially along Maize Road and now Ridge Road, is emerging as the metro’s fastest growing suburban retail zone. Fueled by residential expansion and available land, the area has seen a steady influx of casual dining and quick-service restaurants and new strip retail developments. These two areas now anchor much of Wichita’s leasing activity, with tenants prioritizing visibility, traffic counts and proximity to new housing. In…

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Topeka’s Housing Market Builds Momentum as Demand Outpaces Supply

Kristin Harlow — Thu, 28 May 2026 12:30:00 +0000

By Bob Ross, Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce The Topeka, Kansas, housing market continues to distinguish itself as one of the most competitive and resilient markets in the Midwest — offering a compelling case for developers seeking opportunity in a high-demand, undersupplied environment. New data from the Sunflower Association of Realtors underscores that strength. In February, the Topeka metropolitan area recorded 166 home sales, matching the pace from the same period last year, with total sales volume reaching $33.9 million. The median home price stood at $184,000 (compared with the national average of $360,591), while homes sold in an average of just 13 days (compared with the national average of 39 days) — an exceptionally fast turnaround compared with peer markets. Perhaps most notably, homes in Topeka sold for 100 percent of their list price and 98.7 percent of their original list price, a clear signal of strong buyer competition. By contrast, homes in the Greater Kansas City market took an average of 57 days to sell and closed at just 96.3 percent of original list price. Taken together, the data paints a clear picture: Demand in Topeka is not only strong — it is accelerating. Area employers frequently note…

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Omaha Industrial Market: When Limited Supply Meets High Demand

Kristin Harlow — Thu, 21 May 2026 12:42:00 +0000

By Kevin Stratman, Investors Realty The Omaha industrial market is essentially at full occupancy. Since 2016, the approximately 115 million-square-foot industrial market in Omaha has grown by an average of 3 to 4 million square feet per year. Yet, for a number of reasons, vacancy has consistently hovered around 3 percent. Activity to start 2026 has created a real problem. In just the first quarter of the year, the market transacted over 1.3 million square feet across six properties. As a result, an already constrained vacancy rate is now approaching a critical point. The roots of this issue trace back to 2024. That year, only four speculative construction projects over 100,000 square feet broke ground. For years, Omaha has faced ongoing sewer infrastructure challenges that have limited development in key areas. At the same time, construction costs approached peak levels, and land prices escalated rapidly. This was driven in part by major build-to-suit activity from users such as FedEx and Amazon, as well as large-scale data center developments from Meta and Google, which collectively absorbed thousands of acres of land. Given these conditions, developers made a logical decision to pause after what had been a historic run of construction. That…

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New Development, Backfill Activity Fuel Omaha Retail Market Momentum

Kristin Harlow — Thu, 14 May 2026 12:33:00 +0000

By Mandi Backhaus-Barr, The Lerner Company As they say, when one door closes, another one opens, and the same is true in commercial real estate. In 2025, the Omaha market experienced a plethora of activity, from store closures to quick backfills, and numerous new developments either announced, commenced or completed. Omaha’s market continues to demonstrate strong momentum, showing little sign of slowing down. This strength was reinforced when the metro-area population recently surpassed the 1 million mark, a milestone that appears to carry more weight with retailers than slightly lower population figures. As a result, the market has responded positively, with year-over-year asking rents increasing by 5.4 percent. Despite rapid growth and development across the city, Omaha’s core market fundamentals remain solid. From a retail standpoint, we are seeing retailers continue to test new formats and refine their store footprints, while a recent wave of international brands has begun entering the U.S. market, signaling a new level of global interest and underscoring the growing appeal of well-positioned retail environments. Additionally, the consumer is still spending, just differently. Beauty, footwear and apparel are categories with strong momentum. The trend of mid-tier retailers being squeezed into an increasingly polarized market, where value-focused…

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How Is Music Helping Midwest Cities Find Their Rhythm?

Kristin Harlow — Thu, 07 May 2026 12:20:00 +0000

By Leirion Gaylor Baird, Mayor of Lincoln, Nebraska All roads lead to Lincoln. Located midway between Chicago and Denver, our capital city has long served as a crossroads for touring legends, local artists and fans who pack historic music venues night after night. Our live music scene has grown organically in bars, theaters and alleyways, becoming a defining part of our civic DNA. Now, Lincoln is intentionally amplifying this authentic strength and sound. Through the creation of the Boehmer Street music district, the City of Lincoln, in partnership with the Downtown Lincoln Association and with support from the Nebraska Department of Economic Development, is investing in assets that define our unique cultural landscape. This effort advances a longstanding plan to designate a music district as a downtown catalyst. Our vision is to convert underutilized downtown space into active, mixed-use momentum that grows economic opportunity, strengthens quality of life and brings renewed vitality to our urban core. Anchor culture, community The Boehmer Street music district links three major geographic anchors — the University of Nebraska–Lincoln campus, the State Capitol and our iconic main street — to form a walkable corridor. Longstanding, thriving music venues, including the Zoo Bar, The Bourbon Theatre,…

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Columbus Industrial Market Accelerates Amid Mega-Projects, Strategic Growth

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

By Derek Lichtfuss, Newmark Columbus, Ohio, is emerging as one of the nation’s most dynamic industrial markets. With a strategic location, robust infrastructure and a diversified economy, the metro area is attracting industrial, manufacturing and logistics investment at a pace rivaling traditional coastal hubs. According to Newmark Research, Columbus’ industrial market closed 2025 with positive absorption of 8.8 million square feet — ranking among the top five U.S. markets. Remarkably, the fourth quarter alone contributed more than 3 million square feet, marking the second consecutive quarter above that threshold. The market’s fundamentals underscore its strength. Vacancy ended the year at 7.2 percent, down from 9.7 percent in 2024. Asking rents, while largely flat in 2025, have climbed for six consecutive years, reflecting steady demand. More than 5.2 million square feet are currently under construction, signaling developer confidence. Drivers of growth Several factors drive the city’s momentum. Columbus benefits from an exceptional logistics profile. The metro area can reach roughly 50 percent of the U.S. population within a one-day drive or train, bolstered by I-70, I-71 and the second-largest inland port at Rickenbacker International Airport. Its multimodal capabilities — including Norfolk Southern rail and cargo air — have made it a…

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In 2026, Twin Cities Office Market Is Sorting

Kristin Harlow — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 12:00:00 +0000

By Anders Pesavento, Cushman & Wakefield If you have ever been to a pro sports game or a concert and felt that collective buzz, you know exactly what I mean — it is electric. The kind of energy that makes you look around and think, right, this is why we do this. I felt it first-hand when the Cross Country Skiing World Cup came to Minneapolis in 2024, and more than 30,000 people packed into one place to cheer on the athletes. That day was a reminder you cannot replicate with a livestream or a group chat: humans feed off other humans. The office market is tapping into that same instinct, just in a quieter way. That is why the conversation has moved from whether office matters to which offices matter. It is not a blanket comeback. It is a sorting. We are not rewinding to 2019. Companies are using spaces differently and choosing buildings that help them recruit and retain talent. Hybrid schedules are real, but so is the need for culture, onboarding and collaboration that works best face-to-face. That shift makes “vacancy” a blunt instrument. Real vacancy is the space that is truly available in buildings that can…

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Different Opportunities: Minneapolis, St. Paul and the Suburbs

Kristin Harlow — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 12:00:00 +0000

By Jesse Tollison, Transwestern When analyzing the Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) metro area, urbanicity plays a deep role in understanding the opportunities for making a significant impact and profit in the commercial real estate markets. This is not a story unique to Minnesota’s largest metropolitan area, where roughly half of the state’s inhabitants live, but MSP serves as an illuminating case study as to how widely opportunity can vary between urban and suburban markets. Indeed, many areas across the country exhibit stark differences between their urban and suburban commercial real estate markets, but those differences cannot be uniformly applied to each metro. The qualitative and quantitative analysis of local minutiae lends tremendous insight when evaluating opportunities. Developers, investors, tenants, brokers and every other player in the commercial real estate world are paying close attention to the diverging urban and suburban trends as they assess the market for opportunities. In such a fragmented market, decision-makers are using more data than ever to inform their strategies. High-level views aren’t enough to benchmark a property’s performance, and it’s important to understand the localized trends when evaluating an opportunity. Industrial history As the historical industrial hub of Minnesota, the Twin Cities’ urban core has many…

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Three Narratives Shaping Next Chapter of Chicago’s Office Market

Kristin Harlow — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 12:00:00 +0000

By Denes Juhasz, NAI Hiffman Two different star performers are emerging in Chicago’s suburban and downtown office markets. Practical Class B properties are gaining traction in the suburbs, while glitzy Class A+ trophy towers continue to outperform downtown. As the office sector adapts to post-pandemic workplace realities, the 278 million-square-foot metro Chicago office market ended 2025 with a 25.5 percent overall vacancy rate and 1.8 million square feet of negative net absorption. The suburban market closed 2025 with positive net absorption totaling 282,285 square feet, while overall vacancy held steady at 26.2 percent, largely consistent with the year-end 2024 level of 26.3 percent. Downtown, tenant space reductions and relocations continued to take a toll, with nearly 2.1 million square feet of negative net absorption recorded in 2025. Vacancy rose to 24.9 percent, up from 23.6 percent at year-end 2024. Well-performing assets and a reduction in inventory are helping stabilize the market, albeit unevenly. Three distinct trends are emerging: an outperformance of well-positioned Class B suburban properties, a continued flight to trophy assets in the central business district (CBD) and the conversion of obsolete buildings to alternative uses across the region. Rise of suburban Class B One of the most notable…

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Chicago Market Is Steadfast on the Performance Leaderboard

Kristin Harlow — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 12:00:00 +0000

By Shubhra Jha, Standard Real Estate Investments Chicago was not on many investors’ bingo cards. However, consistently popping up in the top five apartment markets nationwide for rent growth and occupancy outperformance is changing that perception. Metro Chicago boasts relative affordability compared with its coastal counterparts, a range of job opportunities at all skill levels and the ongoing need for attainable housing. These factors create a multifamily investment landscape poised to deliver steady, long-term returns driven by resilient and stable demand. Economy, affordability Chicago is a diversified and consistent economic powerhouse, counted as the third largest major metro area in the United States and the largest non-coastal city. Its geographic location in America’s heartland combined with its historic strength in a wide array of sectors ranging from agriculture/food processing and finance/commodities trading to manufacturing, transportation/logistics and education play an important role in the metro’s resilience throughout economic cycles. Notably, there is no singular industry dominating the economy. Looking ahead, sizeable investments in quantum computing, life sciences and fintech will build on Chicago’s historic advantages in finance, trading and education. Despite its diversified and steadily expanding economic base, Chicago remains an affordable city for its residents. Median home prices in the…

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Indianapolis Industrial Market: From Resilience to Resurgence in 2026

Kristin Harlow — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 12:00:00 +0000

By Abigail Sievers, JLL The Indianapolis industrial market is entering 2026 not merely recovering but evolving. What began as a “quiet” shift has matured into a definitive new phase of activity characterized by renewed user confidence, disciplined development and a manufacturing ecosystem that’s gaining national attention. While headlines often focus on coastal or larger Midwest markets, Indianapolis is steadily emerging as a strategic center for large-scale industrial investment, offering the rare trifecta of scalable Class A space, a resilient workforce and the high-capacity infrastructure that modern manufacturers require. Mega deals return After more than two years of cautious expansion, the market is now seeing a resurgence of large industrial commitments. Leases and acquisitions exceeding 500,000 square feet — which had significantly slowed during the previous 24 months — are re-entering the landscape as users move forward with previously paused growth plans amid market uncertainty. The broader leasing environment reflects this momentum. In fourth-quarter 2025 alone, Indianapolis recorded 7.2 million square feet of absorption — the strongest single‑quarter performance since the third quarter of 2021. Year‑to‑date absorption reached 13.1 million square feet, surpassing the previous two years combined. These mega deals confirm what we’re hearing daily from both new and existing…

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Indianapolis Lodging Edges Out National Trends

Kristin Harlow — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 12:00:00 +0000

By Aghfar Arun, Bradford Allen Indianapolis has a reputation as a convention town, but its hotel story has moved well beyond lanyards and name badges. A growing mix of sports, healthcare, corporate and leisure demand is now filling rooms year‑round — downtown and across the suburbs — turning the market into one of the Midwest’s most reliable hospitality overachievers. Event boom downtown Indianapolis experienced 8.1 million room nights of demand in the 12-month period ending at mid-year 2025, according to CoStar data. This is over 580,000 more than the market’s pre-COVID peak. To meet this demand, the construction pipeline at mid-year included more than 1,500 hotel rooms, with another 3,402 rooms in the final planning stages and 3,220 rooms proposed. According to Visit Indy, new projects slated for delivery in 2026 include a pair of adaptive reuse projects: The Kimpton will transform the historic Odd Fellows Building into a 167-key luxury hotel and the Motto Hotel will bring 116 rooms to the King Cole Building. The most notable project is Signia by Hilton, a 38-story hotel with 800 guest rooms developed alongside a 143,500-square-foot expansion of the Indiana Convention Center. A snapshot of downtown Indianapolis, prepared last year by…

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

Kristin Harlow — Thu, 12 Mar 2026 12:00:00 +0000

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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Detroit Developments Showcase Urban Adaptive Reuse, Preservation

Kristin Harlow — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 13:00:00 +0000

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

Kristin Harlow — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 13:00:00 +0000

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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Prime Office Space in St. Louis: Scarcity and Strategy

Kristin Harlow — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 13:53:00 +0000

By Joshua Allen and David Kelpe, JLL One year ago, CBRE Research forecasted a shortage of prime office space in Heartland Real Estate Business. That prediction has proven accurate. Since the beginning of 2025, demand for top-tier office space has continued to drive leasing activity across the region. This persistent appetite for quality has pushed prime Class A availability to record lows, creating a competitive environment for tenants and landlords alike. The St. Louis office market encompasses approximately 53 million square feet of competitive space. Yet, a closer look reveals a critical challenge: 73 percent of this inventory was constructed before the 1990s. This aging supply base means that only 2.6 million square feet qualifies as truly “prime” — the newest, most desirable assets located in walkable urban areas with abundant amenities. These buildings represent the gold standard for tenants seeking modern design, energy efficiency and proximity to vibrant neighborhoods. Currently, prime Class A availability sits at a mere 5.5 percent, a stark contrast to the 25.2 percent average for non-prime Class A assets. This gap reflects a clear and ongoing preference among tenants for buildings that combine high-quality construction with strategic location. In short, companies are willing to pay…

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