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The U.S. industrial real estate market closed 2025 with strengthening fundamentals and improving momentum heading into 2026, according to Cushman & Wakefield. Stable vacancy, sustained leasing activity, moderating new supply, and a meaningful uptick in second-half absorption all point to a market transitioning toward healthier, more balanced growth.

Europe’s corporate distress picture appeared to stabilize on the surface in fourth quarter 2025, but the latest Weil European Distress Index (WEDI) points to a materially more fragile outlook moving into 2026. Liquidity and profitability pressures remain acute and distress is becoming increasingly uneven across sectors and countries. As a result, corporate distress is expected to rise through 2026, reflecting weaker investment conditions, elevated borrowing costs and continued uncertainty around trade policy and geopolitical risk. This is likely to drive a widening divergence, with pressure intensifying in more exposed sectors and countries while others remain comparatively resilient.

Global investor confidence in real estate has strengthened significantly heading into 2026, reaching its highest level since 2019, according to the 2026 Investment Intentions Survey, published today by INREV, ANREV and PREA.

After a turbulent period, real estate has absorbed a significant amount of pain. PIMCO believes 2026 will be defined by structural uncertainty and a return to fundamentals. Predicting interest rates remains complex, so underwriting will need to prioritize income quality over speculative cap rate compression.

Today’s real estate investors expect more than financial returns — they want transparency, strong performance, and meaningful communication. As investor priorities evolve around risk, asset allocation, and technology, investment managers must adapt to maintain trust and drive growth. To better understand these shifts, AppFolio surveyed 200 U.S.-based investors and property owners.

Strong demand for senior housing amidst limited new inventory is boosting occupancy rates and underscoring the need for sustained investment in new development, according to the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC) using newly released data from NIC MAP.

The global economy held up better than expected in 2025, and many of the same pressures will carry into 2026. Commercial real estate is starting to recover, though pockets of stress remain, according to Principal Asset Management in its 2026 U.S. Inside Real Estate Sector report. Going forward, returns should be driven more by rental income and picking the right markets and assets, with investors also diversifying more globally.

Corporate AI investment is growing significantly and will not pull back, with companies planning to double their spending on the technology in 2026, accounting for about 1.7 percent of revenues, more than twice the increase for 2025.

The U.S. agricultural land market is shifting after years of steady growth. Although land values are still high historically, current signs indicate a more complex situation driven by local and regional factors rather than nationwide trends.

Global real estate appears to be entering a more constructive phase, with opportunities concentrated in living, industrial, retail and select alternatives as markets begin a disciplined recovery, according to Hines in its 2026 global investment outlook, titled “Cleared for takeoff: A new flight path for real estate.”

CF Capital released a research-driven multifamily market overview, titled Lessons Shaping the Multifamily Market in 2026. The commercial real estate investment firm observes that the multifamily market is entering 2026 at a clear inflection point.

Waterfront redevelopment has become one of the most powerful opportunities, but success depends on effective public-private collaboration. In an exclusive interview with IREI, John Drew, founder and chairman of the Drew Co., a Boston-based real estate management and development company, discusses the challenges of transforming industrial sites into thriving urban districts. As cities and developers navigate shifting market conditions, infrastructure demands, and evolving patterns of how people live and work, Drew’s perspective helps frame the practical considerations, partnerships, and long-term planning involved in large-scale waterfront redevelopment.

According to the 2026 Investment Intentions Survey, published, by ANREV, INREV and PREA, institutional investors in Asia Pacific remain under-allocated to commercial real estate relative to their global peers, even as investors continue to look for opportunities to deploy capital.

A widening performance gap has emerged between modern class A warehouses and older, legacy facilities, raising questions about which features drive positive absorption for class A assets despite the broader market slowdown. Several factors are contributing to tenants’ flight-to-quality and preference for modern logistics facilities.

U.S. office leasing activity rose 5 percent year-over-year, with Boston reporting the highest growth in the metric, according to year-end data from CoStar.

The U.S. labor market closed out 2025 with continued signs of weakness, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ December employment report released Friday. Nonfarm payrolls increased by just 50,000 jobs, well below many economists’ forecasts and a marked slowdown from earlier in the year.

The global commercial real estate market is emerging from a prolonged period of repricing and volatility and entering a phase of stabilization, according to a Hines report, setting the stage for a gradual recovery rather than a rapid rebound.

Global real estate markets remain under pressure as cyclical weakness and structural headwinds persist, while competition for capital across private markets intensifies, according to a MSCI report.

Invesco has released its Winter 2026 Defined Contribution Participant Pulse Survey, which explores retirement savers’ views on alternative investments and artificial intelligence.

BGO chief economist Ryan Severino reported in his recent post that the global economy and commercial real estate markets are entering 2026 with resilience despite heightened uncertainty, outlining 11 key themes to watch in the year ahead.