— By George Crawford of Kidder Mathews — In the city where heart-wrenching Hollywood movies originate, we bear witness to the harrowing coming-of-age story for one of the largest office submarkets in one of the largest metropolitan economies on earth, Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA). “I’m going to make him an offer he can’t refuse.” The Godfather, spoken by Don Vito Corleone It was almost too good to be true. In 2016, DTLA was the star of a commercial real estate love story. Landlords and tenants were captivated by a compelling script about creative tenants fleeing the expensive Westside into the welcoming arms of DTLA and sexy adaptive reuse offices. A steady flow of capital inspired 50 percent of DTLA’s submarket to trade in a 24-month period. Downtown was poised to rival the traditional metropolis, while retaining its gritty charm. Like any Hollywood romance, the chemistry was undeniable and the ending seemed predictable: sustained rent growth and long-term tenant demand. Then came the plot twist. “Where are we going so very quickly?” The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, spoken by Piglet The pandemic accelerated what technology had been threatening for years. Workplace flexibility and changing corporate …
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 …
By Rives Taylor, principal, global resilience research lead, Gensler Texas is experiencing rapid growth in data center development as part of a broader push to support artificial intelligence (AI) ventures that have transformed digital infrastructure into a magnet for capital. As noted in Gensler’s recent Design Forecast, these assets demand abundant land, power and connectivity, making the region a natural fit for long-term growth in digital and industrial real estate. However, these facilities also require reliable access to significant water resources to support cooling systems that are essential for maintaining uninterrupted operations. As development increases, so do the needs for resources, and Texas lacks a consistent policy requiring operators to report essential metrics such as water use, energy consumption or cooling loads. This lack of transparency limits the ability of policymakers, communities and design professionals to fully understand the environmental impact of one of the state’s fastest-growing industrial sectors. With rising pressure on water supplies and power systems, the need for clearer reporting standards and more forward‑looking design approaches is becoming increasingly urgent. A recent white paper by the Houston Area Research Center (HARC), found that “without modernized planning and policy updates, the state faces a collision between finite water …
As we wrap up April, Columbia’s retail market is growing in two distinct directions. Out in Lexington County and the northeast Richland County, new retail-anchored mixed-use projects are stepping up to meet the demands of a booming housing market. At the same time, downtown is getting a major facelift as new infill developments reshape the city center. Historically, Columbia has always had a reputation as a steady, reliable market — thanks to our major hospital systems, state government, universities and Fort Jackson. But that steady market is officially evolving. Between tightening vacancy rates and the massive wave of economic confidence brought on by the Scout Motors plant, Columbia has moved beyond just being a “safe bet” and is quickly emerging as a highly competitive powerhouse in the Southeast. Suburban powerhouse Platt Springs Crossing (South Lexington/Red Bank): A centerpiece of this growth is Platt Springs Crossing, a $65 million, 57-acre mixed-use development at the intersection of Platt Springs and Old Orangeburg roads, has seen overwhelming interest from national brands. • Anchor success: Lowes Foods opened its 51,000-square-foot store in late 2025, serving as a massive traffic driver. • Tenant velocity: Confirmed regional and national tenants include Chipotle Mexican Grill, Panda Express, …
— By Kitty Wallace of Colliers — The Los Angeles multifamily market is undergoing a short-term reset as a recent wave of deliveries has softened rents and modestly increased vacancy. However, this dislocation is proving transitory as development has slowed dramatically and the forward pipeline is effectively falling off a cliff beyond 2026, reinforcing what remains one of the most supply constrained and fundamentally durable markets in the country. Since the onset of COVID, the Los Angeles market has contended with elevated legislative risk, homelessness and crime concerns, modest population fluctuations, rising operating expenses, and, most notably, increased insurance premiums and utility costs. Yet, with a vacancy in the mid-5 percent range, this multifamily market continues to outperform the national average of roughly 8 percent. Rents are now stabilizing and beginning to inflect upward as concessions burn off and demand normalizes. Policy Headwinds, Construction Challenges, Emerging Tailwinds The ULA tax, imposing a 5.5 percent levy on transactions above $10.6 million, has further constrained new construction. This has made it increasingly difficult for projects to pencil and has driven many sites toward lower-density uses or affordable housing backed by subsidized capital. As a result, much of the current development activity is concentrated among …
The headline numbers in commercial real estate rarely tell the full story. First-quarter 2026 data is a case in point: Lee & Associates reports that industrial and multifamily are slowly absorbing a historic supply surge, office is staging an uneven recovery, and retail is contending with a shortage of quality space rather than a glut of it. Here’s a sector-by-sector look at where U.S. commercial real estate stands heading into the rest of the year — and which markets are bucking the trend. Sponsored: Download Lee & Associates’ 2026 Q1 North America Market report. Industrial Overview: Logistics Demand Moderates; Small Space Needs Gain There was continued weakness in the first quarter across North American industrial markets. The slowing has produced an overhang of newly delivered speculative logistics space, while rent growth has fallen to virtually nil. In the United States, net absorption totaled 32.8 million square feet in Q1, or 0.2 percent of the 19.3-billion-square-foot inventory. It was the lowest rate of tenant growth in more than a decade aside from the 17.6-million-square-foot contraction in Q2 following the U.S.’s initial tariff announcements. The overall vacancy rate in Q1 settled at 7.5 percent, which has nearly doubled since 2022 as new …
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 …
By Taylor Williams There’s nothing free in this world, not even a full-blown, multi-year resurgence in brick-and-mortar retail real estate. The ferocious revival of physical retail in the post-COVID era, headlined by fewer national bankruptcies, record rental and occupancy rates and renewed investor interest, has slowly but surely been stymied and hamstrung by macroeconomics. Despite real ingenuity and entrepreneurship among today’s operators, the business of leasing retail space in high-growth markets remains fraught with potential deal-killers that go beyond supply-demand dynamics that are favorable to landlords. For Texas retail brokers who specialize in tenant representation — men and women who genuinely love helping businesses grow, expand and serve their communities — that means taking on fresh challenges day in and day out. It means navigating pitfalls that have a way of consuming the two most valuable commodities on the planet: time and money. It means perfecting the art of self-motivation, of having ananticipatory mindset and thinking multiple steps ahead. It means embracing the hustle. Since venturing out on his own following a 12-year career at Weitzman, Matthew Rosenfeld, founder and president of Dallas-based brokerage firm The Rosenfeld Company, has lived and breathed these realities. Rosenfeld’s shop has been open for …
When it comes to the Florida commercial real estate market, the conversation typically gravitates toward the larger metro areas. However, for those of us on the ground, it’s clear that Southwest Florida is becoming a key player in the state, particularly for industrial users. By nearly every measurable standard — population growth, job creation and infrastructure investment — Southwest Florida continues to outperform much of the United States. Industrial users and investors have taken notice, and so far in 2026, leasing activity has already outpaced all quarters in 2025. According to the latest Colliers market report, the market has absorbed 115,777 square feet of flex and industrial space in the first quarter alone, compared to fourth-quarter 2025 which saw (-189,303 square feet) of negative absorption. This is due to pent-up demand from users taking a cautious “wait-and-see” approach last year. And while the factors preventing them from making decisions in 2025 still exist, the sheer necessity of a physical presence in the area has finally outweighed the perceived risks. ‘Supply reset’ On paper, the data might give pause. Overall vacancy in Southwest Florida rose to 9.7 percent in first-quarter 2026, a sharp departure from the 7.2 percent we saw just …
— By Mark Damiani of CBRE — Los Angeles has always been a market that requires conviction. Recent headlines have tested that conviction, but institutional capital continues to look through short-term noise and focus on long-term fundamentals. By that measure, Los Angeles remains one of the most structurally advantaged retail markets in the United States, defined by scale, supply constraints and global relevance. The market today is not without challenges, but fundamentals are stabilizing and capital is re-engaging following a meaningful repricing cycle. A Global Gateway with Structural Advantages Greater Los Angeles is one of the largest retail markets in the country, with about 378 million square feet of inventory. It benefits from a diverse economic base, significant tourism, and a consumer profile that spans both necessity and luxury spending. At the same time, new supply remains extremely limited. Total deliveries in 2025 were negligible relative to the size of the market, continuing a multi-year trend of underdevelopment. Entitlements, construction costs and land availability remain significant barriers, particularly in infill locations. This combination of scale and scarcity continues to underpin long-term investment theses for institutional capital. Leasing Fundamentals: Stabilization with Positive Momentum Leasing fundamentals across LA have proven more resilient than broader narratives …