The last quarter of 2025 came with price haircuts across much of the U.S. real estate landscape. Urban offices were hit particularly hard.

Commercial properties took price haircuts across the U.S. at the end of 2025, according to MSCI.

While MSCI’s commercial property price index last month rose 0.2% year-over-year, it fell 0.4% from November to December. And the drop from the third quarter to the fourth implies an annualized pace decrease of 3.5%. 

“Price growth has been softening in recent months,” the analysis says.

The office sector was hit the hardest, with central business district properties falling in the fourth quarter at an annualized pace of 7.9%. That metric for their suburban counterparts showed a 1.2% drop. 

Retail and industrial prices edged down slightly in December, and the only sector to see prices rise was multifamily, with a monthly increase of less than 0.1%.

Still, the value of apartment properties was down 1.3% year-over-year.

“Apartment’s softening prices mark a reversal of earlier momentum, as what had been nearly two years of moderating annual declines has given way to renewed pressure,” MSCI’s report says.  

The report also broke down geographic differences in commercial price changes. 

The markets with the largest price increases over the last year were Orlando, Florida; Houston; Baltimore; Phoenix; and Sacramento, California. 

The sharpest price drops in 2025 were found in Boston’s central business district, New York City’s outer boroughs, Seattle, San Francisco’s East Bay and Nashville. 

Boston’s CBD also had the largest price decline over the five-year period ending in 2025, the report found. The other markets with the biggest five-year slides were D.C.’s central business district, San Francisco, Los Angeles’ central business district and San Jose, California.

The markets with the most price growth over the last five years were South Florida; Orlando and Fort Myers/Sarasota/Naples, Florida; Charlotte; and LA’s Inland Empire. 

MSCI Executive Director Jim Costello said the data center boom masked distress in other parts of the market last year. 

“In the beginning of the year, there was optimism and some price growth, but it’s weakened as of late,” he told Bisnow last month.

What do a multifamily community in Florida, a Class-A retail center in Alexandria, Virginia, and a large mixed-use parcel outside of Austin have in common?

Those three developments are representative of the diverse investment opportunities in the top commercial real estate markets in the United States, as identified by Avison Young’s new U.S. Investment Sales platform, known as USIS, which it established earlier this year.

James Nelson, head of U.S. investment sales for the global real estate advisory firm, said USIS is focused on multifamily, office, retail and other development projects in 12 CRE markets that generate roughly 40% of the average annual sales volume for the entire country. 

“If you really want to move the needle as a company or as an investor, you need to focus on these dozen markets,” Nelson said. “Our investment sales group is well positioned to expand our client relationships and identify new business opportunities in these metropolitan areas, leveraging our uniquely integrated teams.”

Nelson said Avison Young’s goal is to drive its sales volume in these markets for transactions worth $25M or more through dedicated research and business development efforts. Opportunities outside these markets are also presenting themselves as Avison Young professionals in other markets seek to leverage the national USIS presence. 

“Multifamily is the most desirable asset class right now, accounting for over a third of the dollar volume year to date,” Nelson said. “As for office, once you start getting more billion-dollar sales, like 590 Madison in New York, that’s really going to start pushing up the numbers.”

USIS partner and principal Erik Edeen added that there were 10 transactions worth more than $100M in Manhattan in the third quarter, at least one in each of the asset classes. It was the first time this has happened in five years.

“This highlights the availability of capital chasing larger deals across the sector spectrum and presents as a vote of confidence for the market in general,” Edeen said.

Despite their impressive performances so far in 2025, USIS’ 12 target markets aren’t even reaching their full potential, Nelson said. On average, these markets are performing at only about half the level they were in 2021 due to the CRE disruptions of recent years, such as higher interest rates.

“You look at these cities and you start to ask, for example, if Dallas is currently a $24B market, does that mean it could be close to a $50B market?” he said. “Or I can tell you that the 10-year average in New York was around $30B and right now it’s two-thirds that. These are big markets with a lot of growth potential.”

Nelson said Avison Young’s approach will appeal to investors who are looking for diversification across asset classes, geography or both. With its local expertise and 60 offices across the country, USIS can locate deals that meet clients’ unique needs and risk profiles, he said. This is particularly important for out-of-town investors who might be interested in growth cities such as Dallas or Charlotte. 

“With all the capital flowing to these major markets, we can help make introductions with our local boots on the ground to win more large-scale business,” he said. “Likewise, if you’re looking to sell, you certainly want someone who has expertise in the local market but who can also put it on a national or even global stage, and that’s what we’re really good at.”

Nelson said the representative developments — the Florida multifamily community, Northern Virginia retail center and suburban Austin mixed-use parcel — exemplify Avison Young’s ability to find and bring local opportunities to the attention of global investors. 

In Florida, 2211 Grand Isle is a 390-unit multifamily community on about 25 acres. Less than a 15-mile drive from Tampa, its garden-style apartments provide much-needed housing.

“There’s always going to be demand for this type of housing and occupancy numbers at 2211 Grand Isle are in the high 90s,” he said. “It’s a really solid investment for someone who’s looking for cash flow with upside potential.”

In Alexandria, 5900 Kingstowne Village Parkway features 88K SF of 100% occupied Class-A retail. As a key component of a much larger mixed-use property, the center also presents significant cash flow with further potential.

“Real estate investors like that theme,” he said.

Meanwhile, Revelry, a master-planned community near Austin, offers more than 200 acres of multifamily, mixed residential and commercial development parcels for sale.

Nelson said the USIS platform gives clients the opportunity to easily invest in projects like these in any of its principal 12 markets, with Avison Young providing seamless support across the country.

“In the brokerage world, especially at a lot of the big shops, there are a lot of silos where, if you want to invest in a dozen markets, you have to meet with a dozen different teams,” he said.

“The nice thing about Avison Young is we’re a principal-owned company with 750 owners and one database. If an investor wants to invest in particular markets, we all have access to that information here. That’s what we’re solving for, and with the traction we’ve already seen out of the gate, I couldn’t be more excited for the future.”

This article was produced in collaboration between Avison Young and Studio B. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.

Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to studio@bisnow.com. 

Charlotte’s commercial real estate market is showing reasons for optimism, thanks in no small part to the area’s robust job market. 

Among the 14 metropolitan areas with a population of more than 1 million people, Charlotte recorded the highest employment growth — up 2.8% — in 2025 so far. Charlotte is seeing greater stability in its office market, while net absorption of industrial space neared 1M SF in the second quarter. 

“Charlotte remains a robust growth market — not just hot but resilient,” said Robert Memory, department manager of utility engineering and coordination for Colliers Engineering & Design. “It is transitioning from a place of rapid speculative growth with very steep price increases to more moderate but still solid growth with more emphasis on sustainability, mixed-use, redevelopment and affordability.”

If advising a developer or investor, he said he would look carefully at where demand is underserved, including affordable and mid-tier housing, adaptive reuse and mixed-use infill.

Memory will speak at Bisnow’s Charlotte Construction and Development Conference on Nov. 4 on a panel titled Next Development Frontier: Site Selection, Opportunity Zones, Underdeveloped Areas and Assets to Maximize Returns.

Register here for the event. 

Bisnow spoke with Memory to learn more about the state of the Charlotte market, where he is seeing the most activity and the potential challenges that lie ahead. 

Bisnow: You said the market is not just hot but resilient. What do you think is behind that? 

Memory: I’m looking at the job numbers to start. Colliers Engineering & Design opened a Charlotte office over eight years ago, based on the growth projection and opportunities as a national company looking to expand our engineering services. When you look at what Charlotte has to offer — several professional sports teams, an incredible downtown area — these are the things that attract both companies and individuals. 

Charlotte’s downtown is the nucleus that bonds the growth outward throughout Mecklenburg County and beyond. Everything funnels into Charlotte’s thriving downtown. 

Bisnow: Does your background in transportation infrastructure give you a particular perspective on this market?

Memory: I spent 30 years with the North Carolina Department of Transportation, and in my experience, improving interstates enhances the opportunity for more people to relocate. 

During those three decades, I had the opportunity to work on multiple highway improvement projects in Mecklenburg County, including the I-485 loop, I-85 widening, I-77 express lanes, NC 49 widening and the widening of Independence Boulevard. I saw significant growth throughout the area thanks to those improvements to the highway infrastructure. 

Today, they are forming teams to restructure I-77 South, and any time you improve traffic flow in a specific area, it opens up the corridor for more development. 

Bisnow: What sets Charlotte apart from other cities, and where do you see its opportunities and its challenges? 

Memory: There are several things that make Charlotte stand out, not least of which is its population growth. Charlotte saw a 7.3% population growth between 2019 and 2024, and it’s expected to continue to grow. Along with that, Charlotte is more affordable than many U.S. metros when you factor in living costs, housing and taxes. 

Charlotte is also a well-known banking hub with a diverse and growing economic base that includes advanced manufacturing, tech, research and development, biotech and more. This has piqued foreign interest, and Charlotte is drawing a significant amount of foreign investment, particularly in the manufacturing, energy and telecom sectors. 

All of this, combined with our high quality of life thanks to nearby schools, a mix of urban amenities and easy access to mountains and coastal areas, truly sets Charlotte apart. 

That being said, the area is facing several challenges, from pressures on housing affordability to material costs, labor shortages and supply chain disruptions that are delaying the delivery of much-needed housing. Additionally, there are infrastructure and transit gaps, including a limited public transit system, and risks from broader economic uncertainties surrounding interest rates, inflation and credit markets, which will influence development viability.

Bisnow: Where do you expect to see the most construction and development activity in Charlotte in 2026?

Memory: Based on multiple sources, office vacancies are high, particularly for older, Class-B and C buildings. As a result, conversion, demolition or reuse plans are increasingly likely for these assets. 

There is a strong multifamily development pipeline, particularly in the urban core, South End and the suburbs. But new supply is cooling in starts, so existing sectors may see more turnover. 

Mixed-use and public-private development projects, including for apartments, retail and office, are prominent, especially in master-planned communities. And finally, affordable housing and build-to-rent are gaining importance, given housing cost pressures.

Bisnow: What do you hope people learn from your panel at the Nov. 4 N.C. construction and development event? 

Memory: I hope attendees walk away with a clearer understanding of the key challenges and opportunities shaping North Carolina’s construction and development landscape. Whether it is navigating new regulations, embracing sustainable practices or leveraging technology to streamline projects, our goal is to provide practical insights that developers, contractors and community stakeholders can apply immediately. You’re looking at a thriving city, but at the same time, we’re facing real challenges, and those challenges are not going away. 

I also hope it sparks more collaboration across sectors because the future of construction in our state depends on partnerships that prioritize innovation, resilience and long-term value.

Click here for more information about the event. 

This article was produced in collaboration between Colliers Engineering & Design and Studio B. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.

Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to studio@bisnow.com. 

Despite the uncertainty in the U.S. economy, commercial real estate remains largely resilient. The multifamily, retail and industrial sectors are all strong, and there are several strong investment opportunities in these markets, as well as in workforce housing, office and more. 

Of course, these opportunities aren’t worth much if investors don’t know how to take advantage of them properly. From selecting the wrong site to making zoning errors, several things can go wrong when looking to buy, sell, lease, finance or develop commercial real estate. 

This is why it is important to work with a CRE professional who fully understands the ins and outs of the industry. According to Steve Rich, Colliers Charlotte director of retail services, there are no more knowledgeable CRE professionals than those who have earned a Certified Commercial Investment Member Designation, or CCIM.

Rich is the global president of The CCIM Institute, and he said that to earn a CCIM Designation, a professional needs to not only have a vast portfolio of CRE experience but also take four designation classes, a negotiations class and pass a final exam. 

“It’s like earning a master’s in CRE while also proving that you have expertise and experience,” Rich said. “There are no easy deals in CRE, but CCIM professionals are people with a proven record who know how to successfully complete a transaction.” 

Rich said that research shows that, on average, CCIMs close 42% more transactions each year than those without the designation. He spoke with Bisnow about why people who are interested in making the most out of the CRE market should work with a CCIM.  

Benefiting From Education And Experience

The coursework needed to complete the designation includes a rigorous financial analysis course, which covers time, value, money, net present value, debt coverage ratio, discounted cash flows and evaluating hold-sell decisions. The market analysis course focuses on supply and demand and competitive positioning.

The user decision analysis course teaches how to identify key market drivers, such as labor force, customer access, regulatory environment, supply chains and whether to lease or own. The fourth class, investment analysis, brings everything together with lessons on forecasting future cash flows, appreciation, tax implications and more.  

All this knowledge sets CCIMs up to help their clients make the most informed decisions and avoid common pitfalls that can come with CRE transitions, Rich said.

Avoiding Pitfalls 

Rich said there are several common mistakes that CRE investors and developers can make that a CCIM can help them avoid. For example, selecting a bad location or site.   

“There are several things to consider when analyzing a site, including labor force, growth patterns, absorption, gap analysis and financial feasibility, to name a few,” he said. “A CCIM designee has this expertise.”       

Uncovering Opportunities 

Rich said that thanks to the tools he has access to and the knowledge he has gained as a CCIM, he can help clients unlock new, more lucrative opportunities. He spoke about a client who is a franchisee for a national sub sandwich chain who was looking to open a new shop. 

Rich conducted a retail market potential analysis of the trade area his client was looking at and discovered that 92% of the people had visited a fast-food restaurant in the last six months. While that number is typical in the U.S., he also discovered that 18% of people in the area had ordered delivery from a fast-food restaurant, which was 48% more than the U.S. average. He also discovered that within a mile of the space his client was considering, 35% more people than the national average were going to sub or deli-style restaurants.  

“This additional information allowed my client to better understand the location and potential success of his restaurant,” Rich said. “I am confident the information I provide him is why he has been a client of mine for over 20 years.”

He said that when analyzing the CRE market overall, he has noticed many national retail chains are reducing the size of the brick-and-mortar spaces and blending them with e-commerce and curbside pickup. He is also seeing a rise in experiential retail, where stores are implementing everything from pickleball courts and adventure courses to wedding venues in their spaces to draw in customers.  

Utilizing Proven Expertise 

The bottom line is that when clients work with a CCIM, they can feel confident that they are working with someone with proven expertise in CRE, Rich said. 

“A CCIM has the education and the experience in CRE to get complex deals done,” he said. “CCIMs don’t just complete more deals — they help their clients minimize risk and maximize value.”  

This article was produced in collaboration between Studio B and The CCIM Institute. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.

Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to studio@bisnow.com.  

Courtesy of Jackson-Shaw

Jackson-Shaw Founder Lewis Shaw II passed away at 82.

Lewis Shaw II, who founded Dallas-based Jackson-Shaw and grew it into a major national player that has completed 63M SF of development, has died. 

Shaw was 82 at the time of his passing on March 5 following a brief illness, D Magazine reported.

Shaw grew up in Ohio and graduated from Wittenburg University in 1966, according to an obituary. After college, he spent seven years in the U.S. Air Force. He moved to Dallas after the Air Force and worked at IBM for a short time.

Shaw met Jim Jackson and joined his small contracting firm, J.C. Jackson Co., in 1974. Jackson died a few years later, and Shaw bought the company and renamed it Jackson-Shaw. He would go on to grow it to a national development firm and complete $3.6B in transactions, according to the firm’s website.

The company has expanded in several markets including Austin; Charlotte, North Carolina; Jacksonville, Florida; and Las Vegas. Its recent projects include the 535K SF Greensport Logistics Park in Houston and a 1.7M SF Lakeview Business District project in Rowlett, Texas.

Shaw also co-founded American General Hospitality Inc. in 1980, a company that merged with Meristar Hotels & Resorts 18 years later.

He was inducted into the North Texas Commercial Association of Realtors Hall of Fame in 2003 and was part of the Wittenberg University Board of Directors, the Dallas Business Journal reported. 

A recent survey of commercial real estate investors ranked Atlanta as a top 10 target among U.S. metros. The market held its spot at #4 among the most attractive markets for investment in CBRE’s 2025 U.S. Investor Intentions Survey.

CBRE’s Shea Campbell added, “The metro’s diversity of educational institutions and employment sectors have driven population growth in recent years, as well as a flurry of multifamily development that peaked in mid-2024. These factors have paved the way for sustained leasing velocity and rent growth, increasing investor confidence for the foreseeable future.”

Investors are strategically focusing on gateway markets offering discounts and high-growth Sun Belt markets like Atlanta, which continues to draw interest due to its growth potential. Other Sun Belt markets that ranked in the top 10 include Raleigh-Durham, Austin, and Phoenix. Dallas maintained its position as the top market for investment for the fourth consecutive year, with Miami ranking second.

Georgia State University will soon begin a transformational project. Most of the $107 million needed for the project will come from an $80 million gift from the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation.

Development of the Hurt Park area includes removal of Georgia State’s Sparks Hall to integrate the existing campus Greenway into a district that crosses Gilmer Street and connects to Hurt Park. The Greenway will include an elevated plaza, enhanced walkways and a vegetated buffer along Courtland Street.

On the north end of Hurt Park, the 100 Edgewood building will get a dining area and gathering space. Renovations to the first four floors of the building will provide up-to-date classroom space and interconnecting stairways.

The Arts and Humanities Building, overlooking the newly activated outdoor hub, will get a new, more contemporary façade.

At Woodruff Park, new sidewalks, a realigned streetcar platform, façade improvements to the 25 Park Place building and plaza, and other pedestrian-oriented features will provide a connection to Broad Street and the Aderhold Learning Center.

Notwithstanding some recent high-profile return-to-office edicts by major occupiers, the office sector continues to be the biggest contributor to monthly increases in distress metrics. And as the experts brought together for the “Distressed Property Outlook: The First Inning” panel made clear, the cycle is just getting started. 

“I don’t know that the flood’s hit yet,” said Curt Spaugh, director, special servicing in response to an audience question at the in-person Connect Distressed Investment & Finance event, held Oct. 22 at the Luxe Sunset Boulevard Hotel in Los Angeles. “I know that for us, we haven’t liquidated a lot of inventory yet.” However, he continued, citing SASB and conduit CMBS along with CBD office properties, “you’ll see more of that in ‘25 and ‘26.” 

However, the panelists made it clear that there’s enough distressed activity at present to identify trends. Looking at office properties in Greystone’s special servicing portfolio, “The recurring theme there is that these are defaulting primarily at maturity,” said Jenna Unell, VP/senior managing director—special servicing. “There is little liquidity for office right now. So finding refinancing opportunities or some other type of transaction to pay off a loan is typically where we are seeing the distress.” 

Mitchell Hunter, chief commercial officer with Trimont, described his company’s current workload. “We’ve probably got about 12 or 15 [properties] that are currently in the foreclosure process that we hope to have title to by the end of the year,” he said. “And that’s all office product.” 

That being the case, the discussion covered the spectrum of major property types. “When I’m giving these numbers, I want to give you the other side,” said moderator Steve Pumper, executive managing partner with Transwestern. “So if I’m telling you 12.58% is going into special servicing for office, that means that 87% isn’t.” Retail isn’t far behind in terms of special servicing percentage, and both lodging and multifamily owners and developers are experiencing financial challenges as well. 

In most U.S. apartment markets, rental rates are down 2% or 3%, Pumper pointed out. “Their occupancy, which used to be 92% or 93%, is dropping to 80 or 89. And concessions are coming back, in some cases as much as two to three months of a one-year lease.” 

Inventories of new apartment deliveries can also pose a problem, notably in the Sun Belt states. “All the places you want to own are getting overbuilt,” said Pumper.  

Spaugh drew a parallel between office owners that have staked a claim in the current market and retail landlords that have overcome the risk of obsolescence. “The [office] owners that got ahead of it were the ones that made their amenities better,” he said. “You take that lobby, you make it something nice. You put in a brewpub or something for the young people. Same with retail: the ones that have gotten ahead of it and have adjusted to the times are going to do better. And not everybody’s done that.” 

On the hotel side, Unell said, “We have a good number of hospitality assets in our portfolio and it’s a little bit of a mixed bag. On the ones that have come in in the last 24 months, we’ve had some good resolutions on a few of them.  

“But we have a couple that were really struggling,” she continued. “Those are going to end up being pretty big losses and they’re CBD hotels. That’s where the problem areas are.” 

The afternoon-long event also presented discussions on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, opportunistic capital and the current investment sales market. Check back later this week for more coverage. 

Marcus & Millichap closed the sale of North County Oral & Facial Surgery Center, an 11,400-square-foot single-tenant net-leased medical/surgery office located at 839 E. Grand Ave. in Escondido. The asset sold for $6,150,000.

“The property was held in a partnership, and they wanted to monetize and invest separately,” said Ryan Gonzales, first VP investments in Marcus & Millichap’s San Diego Del Mar office. “The property was widely marketed and drew several offers. The buyers plan to occupy the building and use it as the flagship location of their advanced dental and maxiofacial surgery center.”

Gonzales marketed the property on behalf of the seller, NCOFSC, LLC. The buyer, 839 E Grand, LLC, was also procured by Gonzales. Conor Brennan, SVP investments in the San Diego Downtown office, introduced the seller and provided transaction support.

The JCAHO-compliant ambulatory surgery center is the largest private surgery center in North San Diego County, according to Marcus & Millichap.

Marcus & Millichap (NYSE: MMI) has published its Midyear 2024 Houston Industrial Market Report.

Highlights include:

• Houston’s industrial inventory expanded by 20% since 2019, adding over 110 million square feet, which increased the vacancy rate to 7.5% by mid-2024.
• A shift in the supply pipeline is helping to stabilize the market, with nearly 75% of the new space already pre-leased as of June 2024.
• The second half of 2024 will see a reduced slate of new deliveries, with about 2.8 million square feet less than the first half, signaling a slowdown in construction.
• Houston’s average asking rent is projected to grow for the fifth consecutive year, reaching $9.07 per square foot by year-end, despite trailing rates in Austin.

“While vacancy pressures have been a challenge, the industrial market is showing promising signs of recovery, particularly in areas like the Southeast and Southwest corridors,” added Marcus & Millichap’s Ford Noe.