CRE Investment Outlook for 2026 Mirrors 2025, Says LaSalle

2026 looks familiar to 2025, but with a few new twists in CRE investment trends.

Nina Dale
January 21, 2026

Together with

Good morning. If 2026 feels a lot like last year, you're not imagining it. LaSalle says the CRE market is still playing out a familiar script. But not all sectors are stuck on repeat.

Today’s issue is sponsored by Covercy—Fund administration that plugs directly into your investment data. No spreadsheets required.

🎙️This week on No Cap: Hoya Capital’s David Auerbach pulls back the curtain on the REIT market—breaking down public vs. private valuations, capital flows, and the signals investors can't afford to miss heading into 2026.

CRE Trivia 🧠

Which two U.S. metro areas led the nation in new self storage supply in 2025, each adding more than 2 million square feet?

(Answer at the bottom of the newsletter)

Market Snapshot

S&P 500

GSPC

6,796.86

Pct Chg:
-2.06%

FTSE NAREIT

FNER

773.43

Pct Chg:
-1.70%

10Y Treasury

TNX

4.293%

Pct Chg:
+0.062

SOFR

30-DAY AVERAGE

3.70%

Pct Chg:
-0.00

*Data as of 1/20/2026 market close.

Déjà Vu

CRE Investment Outlook for 2026 Mirrors 2025, Says LaSalle

LaSalle Investment Management is seeing familiar signals in 2026, echoing the cautious optimism and lingering headwinds of the previous year.

Back to the start: At a January 16 press event, LaSalle’s leadership dubbed 2026 a CRE “Groundhog Day,” citing a familiar cycle of hopes and hurdles from 2025. Ongoing uncertainty, limited construction, and high vacancies remain, though strong capital inflows and stable appraisals provide some optimism.

No quick fix: Brian Klinksiek, LaSalle’s global head of research and strategy, isn’t expecting a rapid rebound. The firm forecasts a “later and slower” recovery across most sectors, with trade policy uncertainty under the Trump administration adding to the unpredictability—though stagflation remains unlikely.

Asset-level outlook: LaSalle’s 2026 strategy favors needs-based, income-generating assets like affordable housing and industrial outdoor storage. Sectors such as logistics, self-storage, medical office, and transitional lending have selective appeal, while office, life sciences, and data centers are on hold due to volatility.

Income over appreciation: Instead of chasing long-term appreciation, LaSalle is prioritizing assets with reliable income. Investor interest is shifting toward well-managed properties with strong near-term cash flow, says Tara McCann, head of Americas investor relations.

➥ THE TAKEAWAY

Patience is the play: LaSalle sees the current CRE market as a slow-burn recovery with selective opportunities. For now, income trumps speculation, and the next cycle may take longer to arrive.

TOGETHER WITH COVERCY

Still Chasing Data for Your Fund Administrator?

Most fund administrators work from the data you give them. If that data is messy, the output will be, too.

Covercy is different.

Hundreds of real estate firms already use our investment management platform to run their deals. Our fund administration services plug directly into that system—with real-time integrations that reconcile instantly.

✓ Financial statements
✓ Tax & audit support
✓ Comprehensive reporting

No spreadsheet wrangling. Just data you can trust.

*This is a paid advertisement. Please see the full disclosure at the bottom of the newsletter.

✍️ Editor’s Picks

Enroll today: Enroll by Feb. 9 for Wharton Online’s Real Estate Investing Certificate Program. Get hands-on training and 1:1 access with faculty and RE leaders from KKR, Artemis, and more. Code CREDAILY saves $300. (sponsored)
Mini sphere: A smaller, 6,000-seat version of Las Vegas’ Sphere is planned for National Harbor in Maryland, promising an economic impact of over $1B.
Private boost: Private investors are driving CRE investment activity as institutions slowly reenter the market.
All-in-one investor portal: Run the full investor lifecycle in one place, from onboarding with built-in funding and compliance to waterfall calculations, integrated distributions, and LP reporting. (sponsored)
Climbing confidence: CBRE forecasts a 16% boost in CRE investment for 2026, driven by pricing realignment, expected rate cuts, and renewed investor appetite.
Global momentum: CBRE Investment Management has closed a $1.62B global real estate secondaries fund, targeting opportunistic deals across the U.S., Europe, and Asia-Pacific.
Zero sum: Bringing home prices back to affordable levels would require either a drastic price drop, soaring incomes, or ultra-low mortgage rates.

🏘️ MULTIFAMILY

Opportunity gap: Trepp says investor sentiment has turned overly bearish, with real stress limited to overleveraged deals while stabilized apartments continue to show solid fundamentals.
Austin entry: Virga Capital acquired a 258-unit Pflugerville property in its first Austin deal, amid rising multifamily sales and pricing in the metro.
Lending lift: Freddie Mac’s multifamily lending hit $77.6B in 2025 as affordability improved slightly, though homeownership gains remain limited.
Mamdani mandate: Thousands of affordable housing units are underway across NYC, giving Mayor Mamdani momentum as developers focus on low-income and homeless housing.

🏭 Industrial

Storage transparency: TractIQ and CRED iQ have partnered to bring verified, facility-level financial and occupancy data to self-storage underwriting.
SoCal surge: Southern California’s industrial market closed 2025 with $1.2B in sales, signaling renewed investor confidence as fundamentals stabilize and private capital steps in where REITs pulled back.
Industrial reset: After a pandemic-driven boom, the industrial sector is facing a reset as oversupply, freight slowdowns, and shifting demand recalibrate the market and redirect capital toward data centers.

🏬 RETAIL

Holiday highs: Despite stubborn inflation and no Fed rate cuts on the horizon, U.S. retail sales topped $1T this holiday season, with strength in luxury and value segments.
Shadow rents: Retail rents are effectively rising as landlords reduce TI and shift buildout costs to tenants, boosting occupancy costs without increasing face rates.
Burger Bitcoin: Steak 'n Shake added $10M in Bitcoin to its treasury after seeing a 15% sales boost and lower fees from accepting Lightning Network payments nationwide.
Brixmor bet: MetLife sold the 95%-leased Chino Spectrum Towne Center to Brixmor for $138M as retail deal activity in SoCal heats up.

🏢 OFFICE

Back to work: Office attendance in the U.S. saw its strongest December since the pandemic, with national visits down 33.1% from 2019 but improving steadily as companies increase return-to-office mandates.
Downtown void: AT&T’s exit from downtown Dallas will leave over 1 MSF vacant in Whitacre Tower, deepening the area’s office struggles as businesses continue relocating to the suburbs.
Recovery hopes: San Francisco’s office market is showing signs of recovery, fueled by AI-driven leasing, shrinking vacancy, and early developer interest.
Price divide: Despite rising vacancies, office pricing remains stable as Class A assets see steady demand while lower-tier properties struggle.

🏨 HOSPITALITY

Food fight: Miami's post-pandemic restaurant boom is slowing as rising costs, fierce competition, labor shortages, and slow permitting force many local and national operators to shut down.
City setback: The Sheraton Inner Harbor shut down on New Year's Eve, reflecting downtown Baltimore's mounting business closures and economic uncertainty ahead of Harborplace redevelopment.

📈 CHART OF THE DAY

In 2026, new multifamily supply is set to drop sharply, with far fewer markets seeing high inventory growth, easing lease-up pressure, and reshaping local market dynamics despite uncertain demand.