Monday, June 29, 2026
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CaliforniaMarket ReportsRestaurantRetailWesternWestern Market Reports

The Appeal of OC Retail Is More Than Looks and Fantasy — It’s Reality

by John Nelson

— By John Read of CBRE Retail Investment Properties-West — Orange County is often defined by its 42 miles of Pacific coastline, its globally recognized theme parks like Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm, and retail landmarks like South Coast Plaza and Fashion Island. Those assets contribute to the region’s visibility and appeal. But they are not what ultimately sustain its retail performance. The county’s strength is rooted in its scale and demographics. Encompassing nearly 800 square miles, Orange County is home to more than 3.1 million residents and one of the most diverse populations in the U.S., including the second-highest share of foreign-born residents in Southern California. The county’s strong retail fundamentals are supported by significant affluence and education. Average household income exceeds $157,000, and 46 percent of residents hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. Orange County is also home to major employers, including Disney, UC Irvine, Providence, Kaiser Permanente and Hoag, maintaining a low unemployment rate of 3.9 percent. These factors collectively make Orange County’s retail property fundamentals undeniable. The Orange County retail market ended the fourth quarter with a countywide availability rate of 3.9 percent, down 10 basis points from the previous quarter. Several submarkets were even tighter. …

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IndustrialMarket ReportsMichiganMidwestMidwest Market Reports

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

by Kristin Harlow

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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Market ReportsNorth CarolinaOfficeSoutheastSoutheast Market Reports

Has the Raleigh-Durham Office Market Hit Rock Bottom?

by John Nelson

The Raleigh/Durham office market is not yet in full recovery mode; however, the latest data suggests something just as important: stabilization. Compared to many U.S. office markets still experiencing significant stress, Raleigh-Durham is holding its ground — and in several respects, outperforming national trends. Currently, the combined Raleigh-Durham office market totals approximately 118.7 million square feet, with Raleigh making up roughly two-thirds of the inventory and Durham the remainder. Together, they form one of the Southeast’s most dynamic and resilient office regions. Vacancy elevated, improving While higher than pre-pandemic norms, vacancy is trending better than many peer markets. Raleigh’s vacancy rate currently sits around 11.1 percent, while Durham’s vacancy rate is approximately 9.8 percent, according to research from CoStar Group. Combined, this market boasts a blended office vacancy rate of roughly 10.7 percent, well below the 14.1 percent national average. Over the past 12 months, Raleigh recorded positive net absorption of approximately 574,000 square feet, while Durham experienced negative absorption of about 480,000 square feet. Combined, the market landed near equilibrium, which sends an encouraging signal that the market is no longer sliding backward, even if growth remains uneven.  The area’s post-pandemic growth is shaped by hybrid work models, changing …

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ArizonaIndustrialMarket ReportsWesternWestern Market Reports

Choppy Seas, Clear Signals: Phoenix Industrial Splits in Two

by John Nelson

— By Rob Martensen of Colliers — The Phoenix industrial market has always resembled a rough sea with lots of highs and lows. The market’s industrial real estate community is full of strong, confident captains who have weathered the high seas to reach the destination of a balanced market. The challenges of today are no different than those in any other market: how do we stay resilient, stay active and stay in business? Phoenix has experienced very strong absorption, mostly from the big-box market. User sales and leases have led the way, with Walmart and Dollar Tree among the most active. Then there’s the cherry on top: another big Amazon lease. What’s bigger than all of that? Retail discounter Burlington is closing on 178 acres in Buckeye to build a 2.1-million-square-foot distribution center. The latest quarterly numbers reinforce this momentum: fourth-quarter vacancy dipped below 10 percent to 9.7 percent, while year-to-date absorption totaled a healthy 18,228,088 square feet, representing some of the highest levels in the U.S. Yes, the big-box market is alive and well…but that’s only one side of today’s story. What’s struggling the most in Phoenix is mid-bay, the most common type of product built post-COVID. Some of …

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Market ReportsMidwestMidwest Market ReportsMissouriOffice

Prime Office Space in St. Louis: Scarcity and Strategy

by Kristin Harlow

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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DevelopmentMarket ReportsRetailTexasTexas Market Reports

For Texas Retail Developers, There’s No Time Like The Present

by Taylor Williams

By Taylor Williams The challenges are multi-faceted. The timelines are elongated. The costs are brutal. The capital is tight. The consumers’ incomes are strained. The prevailing logic favors buying over building. The list goes on.  And yet some retail developers in Texas and Oklahoma see the current environment as one that represents a unique chapter in the saga of their business — one that makes them glad they do what they do.  That sentiment is not just a factor of a post-COVID resurgence built on the realization that brick-and-mortar stores and e-commerce platforms work better in tandem than in opposition. And it’s not just a natural byproduct of favorable supply-demand dynamics that have pushed retail occupancies and rents to record highs in most major markets. It goes beyond being the beneficiary of new capital flows as the commercial real estate darlings of the past decade — industrial and multifamily — have experienced softening fundamentals.  The feeling is, in the words of Stevie Wonder, all these things and more.  “It’s a special time in this business, even if it’s a different one,” says David Neher, president at Dallas-based Rainier Development Co. “There’s a fair amount of front-end risk and planning for …

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IndustrialMarket ReportsNorth CarolinaSoutheastSoutheast Market Reports

Strong Industrial Fundamentals, Smart Supply Fuel Momentum in the Triangle

by John Nelson

The Triangle’s industrial market continues to hold strong fundamentals heading into the new year. A disciplined construction pipeline, low vacancy and high absorption fuel the market’s steady success. Disciplined constructionIndustrial developers have been incredibly disciplined when delivering new product to the Raleigh-Durham market, which has kept vacancy below 7 percent — a significantly stronger rate than peer Sun Belt markets as a result of record levels of development in recent years. With absorption rates in the Triangle averaging nearly 3 million square feet per year in the past five years, this healthy rate of delivery and absorption has propped up the region’s industrial market. That being said, the Raleigh-Durham market infill land supply has its limitations. Industrial-zoned land is difficult to find and acquisition costs are pushing $500,000 per acre in some submarkets, and rezoning is a lengthy 12-month or longer process. For these projects to be financially viable, developers have been increasing rents year-over-year to an average of over $12 per square foot across all submarkets, up from roughly $6 just five years ago. Many institutional occupiers have been willing to pay a premium to be in new, Class A space in these infill areas, but other occupiers are …

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ArizonaMarket ReportsRestaurantRetailWesternWestern Market Reports

Phoenix Net Lease Retail Demand Holds Strong

by John Nelson

— By Walt Brown Jr. of Diversified Partners —  Metro Phoenix continues to post strong retail market conditions, supported by expansion-ready corridors, dense and established trade areas, sustained population growth and retail sites positioned at major intersections with strong traffic counts. Even with shifting capital markets and more disciplined underwriting, retail remains one of the metro’s more consistent performers heading into 2026. A defining constraint today is the limited availability of well-located, credit-tenant triple-net product for sale. This is particularly true in “A” locations within “A” trade areas. That scarcity is keeping competition elevated for stabilized assets and reinforcing pricing for deals that offer clean income, durable tenancy and long-term visibility. At the same time, demand for credit-tenant, triple-net transactions remains strong across Arizona, with Metro Phoenix continuing to attract a meaningful share of that activity. A key driver has been capital migration and reinvestment from higher-cost Western markets, including owners selling assets in California and the Pacific Northwest and redeploying proceeds into Phoenix-area retail. For many buyers, the appeal is straightforward: growth, demographics and a business climate that supports continued tenant expansion. On the development side, the market remains supply constrained at the top end of quality. Across the …

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Data CentersIndustrialMarket ReportsMidwestMidwest Market ReportsMissouri

Why Data Centers Are Emerging as a Defining Opportunity for the St. Louis Region

by Kristin Harlow

By David Steinbach, JLL As artificial intelligence (AI) acceleration, cloud expansion and high-performance computing reshape the digital economy, cities across the U.S. are reevaluating whether they can meaningfully compete for data center investment. St. Louis is increasingly part of that national conversation — and the reasons are structural, not speculative. With competitive power pricing, repurposable industrial infrastructure, developable land and a strengthening policy framework, the region is positioned to capture the next wave of large-scale digital infrastructure. This moment represents more than a real estate opportunity. It’s an inflection point that could redefine the region’s industrial future if public and private stakeholders act in alignment. Cost, infrastructure profile Data center site selection begins with power and connectivity, and St. Louis offers meaningful advantages on both. Missouri’s industrial electricity rates continue to trend below the national average, with the state at 7.69 cents per kilowatt-hour compared with the U.S. industrial average of 8.65 cents per kilowatt-hour, according to the latest EIA data.  This is a significant differentiator for large-scale campuses with substantial, long-duration energy needs. The region’s legacy industrial and former generation sites also come with high capacity transmission infrastructure that can be repurposed, reducing both development timelines and the cost …

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Market ReportsTexasTexas Market Reports

Survey: Texas Fundamentals Bolster Optimism for 2026

by Taylor Williams

By Taylor Williams The results of Texas Real Estate Business’ annual reader forecast survey are in, and they paint a somewhat surprising picture of an optimistic business outlook for the new year.  Why surprising? Well, geopolitically speaking, 2026 has already picked up right where 2025 left off. The Trump administration’s capture of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his wife in early January touched off a fresh source of geopolitical angst. The administration then subsequently ratcheted up its preexisting talk about Greenland becoming part of the United States, including issuing a threat to impose more tariffs on European countries that opposed that plan.  Editor’s note: In mid-November, Texas Real Estate Business sent email invitations to participate in the annual online survey to three separate groups — brokers; developers, owners and managers; and lenders and financial intermediaries. The survey was held open through mid-December. Invitations to participate were also included in the Texas Real Estate Business e-newsletter, as well as through ReBusinessOnline.com. The tariff threat has since been walked back, but it’s hardly an understatement to say that the first month of 2026 has been rocky in terms of geopolitics. And when that happens, it’s anyone’s guess as to just how rattled markets …

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