Kathryn Hamilton

Opportunity in commercial real estate is no longer defined by a handful of primary markets. Today, it’s emerging in places that offer greater flexibility, stronger affordability and room for creative approaches to development. In this issue, we explore how developers are finding momentum in secondary markets across the Sun Belt and Rust Belt, where shifting demographics and economic fundamentals are opening new doors.

That sense of possibility is also evident in projects like The Park in New Jersey and Centerview/Eighteen Main in California, where traditional office parks are being reimagined as dynamic mixed-use destinations. Increasingly, success is tied to experience — from access to major transportation lines to vibrant, on-site culinary offerings.

Behind the scenes, innovation is shaping how work gets done. Our new Leveraging Technology column looks beyond the rush to adopt artificial intelligence and instead focuses on the value of thoughtful, strategic implementation — a shift that mirrors the industry’s broader move toward precision over pace.

Together, the pieces in this issue highlight an industry finding opportunity in new places and approaching growth with fresh perspective.

Telling the stories that shape our industry,
Kathryn Hamilton, CAE
Editor-in-Chief

In Brief

Notable facts and figures on the state of the commercial real estate industry, culled from media reports and other sources.

Office

12.1% 

The increase in office utilization in San Francisco in 2025 compared with 2024, making it the leader among higher-income U.S. markets, according to data from Placer.ai. Boston showed the next best level of improvement, with office visits increasing 7.6%. Miami had the smallest gap compared with its prepandemic office visit numbers, at minus 13.7%.

1 Million

The number of square feet of office space that AI firms added in Manhattan in 2025, according to data from Savills and as reported by Bloomberg CityLab. Legacy tech companies added approximately 2.1 million square feet of office space citywide. AI firms signed more than 100 leases, a 60% increase from the year before. It was the office market’s best year for leasing in New York City since 2014.

Data Centers

85%

The percentage of investors in Seyfarth’s 2026 Real Estate Market Sentiment Survey who identified data center development as the year’s most impactful trend. At the same time, only 30% of respondents said data centers were a key strategy for their own investments, down from 41% the prior year. As the survey report indicated, “This may signal that data centers are not immune to headwinds facing other industries like rising construction costs and supply chain shortages, even as data center development remains 2026’s primary trend.”

300 MW

The operating capacity of a planned data center being developed outside of Regina by Bell Canada and the government of Saskatchewan. Bell said in a press release that the project is the firm’s largest-ever investment in Saskatchewan and upon completion will be the largest purpose-built AI data center development in Canada. It is projected to generate economic value of up to $12 billion for the province. Construction was scheduled to begin this past spring, with the first stage expected to come online the first half of 2027.

Fundraising

$172 Billion

The amount global private real estate funds raised in 2025, a 13% increase over the prior year, representing the first year-over-year increase in fundraising since 2021, according to the Real Estate Outlook 2026 report from With Intelligence by S&P Global. “While this marks a cyclical recovery, fundraising is unlikely to return to the record levels of 2021 and 2022 given ongoing policy uncertainty and tempered expectations among the largest funds in market,” the report noted. “Importantly, many major pension funds remain under-allocated to real estate, providing a structural tailwind for future commitments.”

Adaptive Reuse

90,300

The number of units in the office-to-apartment conversion pipeline in the United States at the beginning of the year, per a RentCafe market insights report. This represented a year-over-year increase of 28% and was nearly four times the number in the pipeline in 2022. “Office conversions now account for almost half (47%) of all future adaptive reuse projects nationwide.”

Retail

5%

The amount by which revenue is growing each year at class A malls, according to reporting by The New York Times. Commercial mortgage-backed securities for the market doubled over the prior year to approximately $8 billion in 2025. There is a stark divide in performance, however. Of the roughly 900 U.S. malls, “the top 100 account for 50 percent of the entire sector’s value … whereas the bottom 350 make up 10 percent.”

1 in 5

Restaurants, bars and coffee shops accounted for almost 20% of all new retail leases over the past year, “solidifying foodservice as one of the primary drivers of retail absorption,” according to a report on quick-service restaurants from Integra Realty Resources. “With new retail construction at historic lows and higher capital costs suppressing development, vacancy remains exceptionally tight, placing upward pressure on rents.”  

• Magazine Article
• Perspectives
• Data Centers
• Adaptive Reuse
• Mixed Use
• Office
• Retail
• Artificial Intelligence (AI)