Market Reports

By Marc Hale, DarwinPW Realty/CORFAC International The Chicagoland industrial market continues to stand out as one of the most important in the country. Its location at the center of the U.S. transportation network gives companies the ability to reach nearly one-third of the nation’s population within a single day’s drive.  Six Class I railroads, an abundance of intermodal facilities and seven major interstate highways all converge here, making it one of the most efficient distribution platforms in North America. Chicago O’Hare International Airport also ranks among the top cargo airports in the world, adding critical global connectivity.  These advantages are reinforced by a large and diverse labor pool, which has long supported the region’s position as a major hub for manufacturers, distributors and logistics providers. The area’s role as a manufacturing hub is further reinforced by its proximity to major steel mills and primary metal production facilities, the depth of its skilled workforce and plentiful access to water from Lake Michigan, which has long supported heavy industry and advanced manufacturing across the region. The market’s vacancy rate has been trending higher, moving from 5.2 percent in the third quarter of 2024 to 5.9 percent in the third quarter of 2025. …

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— By Sam Meredith of Colliers —  After a slow and uncertain start to 2025, the retail market in Reno and Sparks is finally finding its stride. The first half of the year saw many tenants hit pause on leasing decisions as economic jitters made retailers cautious. By the third quarter, however, the mood had shifted. Leasing activity picked up noticeably, and tenants are now back in the market, actively looking for space. That momentum is expected to carry through the fourth quarter and into 2026, with healthy absorption on the horizon. This turnaround is backed by solid market indicators. Net absorption turned positive in the second quarter, while asking rents rose quarter over quarter. Vacancies nudged upward due to big-box closures, including three Big Lots and a Joann store early in the year, but the overall retail vacancy still sits at a manageable 5.4 percent. In fact, several submarkets, including North Valleys, Northwest Reno, South Reno and Southwest Reno, are reporting vacancy rates below 2 percent, showing strong demand in key areas. Retailers are clearly taking notice. Trader Joe’s, which once considered Northern Nevada a one-store market, has now opened two additional locations in Spanish Springs and South Reno. …

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Once upon a time, not so long ago, an industrial developer in Texas could pick an appropriately zoned spot on the map, throw up four walls and a roof, slap a few utilities in place and reasonably expect multiple tenants to quickly reach out and express a willingness to pay healthy rent for that space.  That’s a colorful and simplified view of the pinnacle of the post-COVID Texas industrial market, but it’s not a farcical take. Between roughly early 2021 and mid-2023, phrases like “record-breaking,” “gangbusters” and “never seen anything like it,” were routinely used by brokers and owners alike to describe the state of industrial tenant demand.  Combined with cheap debt and available equity, the ferocious need for warehouse, distribution and manufacturing space sparked absorption of older buildings and fresh capitalizations of new projects across all major markets. Tenants needed space yesterday, and supply chain disruptions — for developers and tenants — were simply a cost of doing business. And business was very, very good. Business is still good today. But the development landscape has undoubtedly shifted while the capital markets that govern said landscape have invariably cooled. New development, particularly in terms of equity, is significantly harder to …

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Atlanta’s commercial office market is at a pivotal moment, caught between signs of stabilization and the lingering effects of a post-pandemic reset. Vacancy remains elevated, absorption is improving and tenant preferences continue to evolve — but fundamentals are beginning to shift as the market adjusts to the new workplace. Signs of a bottom? Hybrid work models, space optimization strategies and cautious expansions have elevated metro Atlanta’s office vacancy rates. Direct vacancy rates surpassed 24 percent for the first time and are hovering near all-time highs.  Meanwhile, sublease availabilities have declined over 25 percent from their peak in 2023, and quality space remains difficult to find. The slowing pace of vacancy increases suggests the market may be nearing a turning point after recording negative annual absorption in four of the past five years. Net absorption, a key indicator for overall office sector health, totals negative 438,000 square feet, according to Colliers’ second-quarter 2025 report. While still in the red, this marks a significant improvement over previous years. Recent leasing activity suggests even more positive movement in the second half of the year, indicating that tenant departures are tapering and space givebacks are moderating. Leasing: quality vs. quantity Despite economic headwinds, leasing …

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By Nicole McAleese, Urban Innovations As autumn arrives, Chicago’s commercial real estate market continues to evolve in response to changing workplace strategies and a growing return-to-office (RTO) movement. With major employers tightening in-office attendance policies, both landlords and tenants are adapting to new demands around space, flexibility and location. Shift in tenant behavior Over the past year, Chicago has seen a noticeable shift in how companies are approaching their office needs. Where many tenants once sought short-term lease extensions or downsized footprints during the height of hybrid experimentation, 2025 has brought renewed interest in long-term planning and, in some cases, expansion. Several high-profile lease transactions underscore this trend. Stripe recently doubled its Chicago office space to 89,000 square feet, while law firm Arnold & Porter relocated from the Loop to a new 40,000-square-foot lease, according to Crain’s Chicago Business. While some firms continue to downsize or consolidate, there’s a clear cohort of companies reinvesting in physical office environments that support collaboration, talent attraction and cultural cohesion. These trends mirror national patterns. According to CRE Daily, a growing number of U.S. employers are enforcing stricter in-office attendance, accelerating the shift away from a purely remote or hybrid-first mindset. The Archie RTO …

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— By Todd Hamilton of Citywide Commercial Real Estate — The Phoenix industrial market has felt like a game of pause and play over the past 12 months.  A year ago, the sector hit pause amid election uncertainty. Post-election hopefulness reignited activity, but tariffs triggered another slowdown. Then came summer, which is always transactionally slow in Phoenix.  This pattern was especially pronounced in the mid-size industrial segment, which was dominated by properties with less than 100,000 square feet. Typically owned by mom-and-pop investors or regional players, these groups lack institutional backing and are more sensitive to factors like interest rates, rising product costs and recession chatter. Despite the unpredictability, Phoenix industrial space has maintained its trademark resilience. Rents grew 4.7 percent year over year, per CoStar’s latest market report, while 787 sales were completed in the past 12 months, at an average price of $180 per square foot. Large-scale inventory (buildings 400,000 square feet and above) has also enjoyed a recent resurgence. At the start of the year, we were wringing our hands over multiple vacant, million-plus-square-foot buildings. Since then, five of those buildings have been leased or sold, with full occupancy expected by year-end. That activity accounts for a …

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By Taylor Williams DALLAS — As a metroplex, Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) has the physical sprawl, population density, pace of job growth and volume of housing development to fairly be labeled as one of the biggest consumer markets in the country, on par with New York City and Los Angeles. It’s the extent to which affordability has matured in New York City and Los Angeles that marks the key difference between DFW and the coastal behemoths. Aside from rental housing, no asset class within commercial real estate captures a given market’s affordability better than retail. Retail rents in the most sought-after corridors and districts of New York City and Los Angeles seemingly have no ceiling, and that is reflected in the prices of the products and services that are dispensed from those spaces. 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. It’s fair to assume that for most households that have relocated from the coasts to DFW, housing and jobs have been the most decisive factors. Yet retail spending does account for a good chunk of the average family’s disposable …

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In the fourth quarter of 2024, the Orlando office market had the first quarter of positive absorption in four years, according to a recent Colliers market report. The market, like many across the nation, has navigated a period of recalibration in the wake of the pandemic and evolving work trends. Yet, a shift in tenant activity has signaled renewed leasing demand across the office landscape. In the fourth quarter, net absorption in the Orlando office market reached a positive 95,843 square feet. This is a significant improvement compared to the same period in 2023, which had a negative absorption of 297,714 square feet. Interestingly, it is the submarkets outside of Orlando’s central business district (CBD) that are shining. This is evident in two recent deals that are having a profound impact on the market. In December, we represented the seller when Charles Schwab purchased the Maitland Summit Office Park for $122 million. This was the largest office deal in Central Florida since 2021 and removed 500,000 square feet of Class A office space from the Maitland submarket, which is about 10 miles north of downtown Orlando.  Around the same time, Mitsubishi signed a lease for 109,000 square feet in Lake …

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By Emily Ackley, NAI DESCO The St. Louis retail market could be perceived as a contrasting story — national headlines continue to spotlight store closures and shifting consumer habits, and yet on the ground, St. Louis is working to write a quite different narrative.  Vacancy rates remain tight, redevelopment projects are reshaping corridors and both suburban and urban districts are evolving to meet the demands of today’s consumers. It is not a market without its challenges, but St. Louis retail is far from stagnant.  Market conditions As of the second quarter of 2025, the St. Louis retail market experienced a dynamic shift as a result of low vacancy rates, evolving consumer behavior and significant redevelopment projects across the St. Louis MSA.  The overall retail vacancy rate stands at 4.7 percent, reflecting a 40-basis-point decrease quarter over quarter and an 80-basis-point decrease year over year, indicating a tightening market.  Leasing activity remains robust, particularly in suburban areas of St. Louis, such as West County and St. Charles County, where vacancy rates have decreased by up to 140 basis points in the past year.  This is being supported by a combination of steady population growth in the suburbs, shifting migration patterns and …

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— By Jason Price of Commercial Properties Inc./CORFAC International — The Phoenix office market continues to show balance as leasing patterns shift and tenants prioritize smaller footprints. The metro’s office inventory totals 195.5 million square feet across roughly 9,000 buildings. Construction has edged upward year over year, with a little more than 900,000 square feet currently underway compared with 844,000 square feet a year ago. Another 1.5 million square feet is expected to deliver between 2025 and 2026, a restrained pace that should help prevent oversupply. This discipline has become critical as companies continue to right-size and lenders remain cautious. The overall market faces slower demand for large contiguous blocks, limited financing availability and an elevated level of sublease inventory that will take time to absorb. Most of the sublease space consists of second-generation Class A and B product in downtown and the Camelback Corridor, where tenants are evaluating long-term space requirements before recommitting. Even so, Phoenix’s fundamentals remain relatively healthy compared with many other metros. The city’s diversified economy, steady population inflow and expanding employment base continue to support leasing activity, particularly for move-in-ready suites of less than 10,000 square feet. Small-business confidence and the return-to-office movement among local …

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