Altus Group Limited reported a strong rebound in U.S. commercial real estate sales in the third quarter, with new data showing a market that might have found its footing after a sluggish start to the year.

According to the company’s CRE Investment and Transactions Quarterly Report released earlier this month, investors poured $150.6 billion into U.S. commercial properties during the third quarter.

That figure represents a 23.7% increase from the previous quarter and a 25.1% jump from the same period one year earlier. These gains mark one of the strongest quarterly turnarounds the industry has posted since before the COVID pandemic.

Multifamily properties once again led the charge. Altus reported that spending on apartment deals climbed 51.1% on a year-over-year basis, accounting for more than one-third of all single-asset transactions during the quarter.

Industrial, office and general commercial assets also posted annual growth that outpaced the broader 25.1% market-wide increase.

Not every sector joined in the rally, though: Hospitality sales slid 11.9% from one year earlier, underscoring the unevenness that still defines parts of the investment landscape.

The strong third quarter helped bring total commercial real estate sales volume to $375 billion through the first three quarters of 2025, up 10.3% from the same period in 2024 and 13% from 2023. Nearly every sector saw strong price growth, too, with the median price per square foot of U.S. commercial real estate rising 2.9% quarter over quarter and 14.2% this year when compared to last.

The rise in pricing is an encouraging signal for owners, many of whom spent much of the past two years navigating interest-rate volatility and shifting lender expectations. A stronger pricing environment suggests that investors are increasingly willing to engage, even as borrowing costs remain higher than they were during the low-rate era of the early 2020s.

Marcus & Millichap negotiated the sale of Uptown Center, a nine-suite retail strip in Cedar Hill, Texas. 

Philip Levy and Scott Abeel, investment specialists in Marcus & Millichap’s Dallas office, had the exclusive listing to market the property on behalf of the seller and procured the buyer. 

Uptown Center is a 22,844-square-foot, fully occupied retail center at 613 Uptown Blvd. Built in 2005 on 2.738 acres, the property includes two multi-tenant buildings with triple-net leases and a mix of service-oriented tenants. The center is shadow-anchored by a high-traffic Walmart Supercenter and benefits from visibility along Uptown Boulevard near the intersection of U.S. Highway 67 and FM 1382, which sees about 97,585 vehicles per day. 

 JLL Capital Markets arranged the sale of Ashford Village, an 81,407-square-foot grocery-anchored retail center in Houston, Texas.

JLL represented the sellers, Spencer Hough, Tommy Le (3 Real Estate Group) and George Giannukos.

Located at 1801 S Dairy Ashford Rd, Ashford Village is positioned in Houston’s Energy Corridor, the city’s premier office submarket. The property is located between Westchase and the Energy Corridor along South Dairy Ashford Road, which carries 32,500 vehicles per day. Just half a mile down Dairy Ashford the new Ashford Yard mixed-use development featuring 90,000 square feet of retail, office and restaurant space plus 350 luxury apartments is underway. The center serves the affluent Memorial West residential area where average home prices reach $768,000 and is near Stratford High School with 2,312 students.

The property serves a growing demographic base with 10.6% population growth projected within a five-mile radius from 2010-2025. The surrounding area features close proximity to major employment centers in the Westchase district.

Built in 1979 and renovated in 2014, the center is anchored by Seiwa Market, a specialty Japanese grocery retailer, and includes tenants such as Dollar Tree, Book Off, Goldfish Swim School, Giggles and Fun, and Salon Village. Seven of the property’s 15 tenants specifically target Asian consumers, reflecting the area’s demographic composition where the Asian population has grown 23.6% since 2010. 

JLL Capital Market’s Investment Sales and Advisory team representing the seller was led by Senior Director John Indelli and Senior Managing Director Ryan West, with analytical support from Dawson Hastings and Max Myers.

Dornin Investment Group acquired a $54 million non-performing loan (“NPL”) portfolio secured by 20 properties. The acquisition was financed through a combination of debt and equity arranged by Bellwether Enterprise on behalf of DIG.

The NPL, acquired from a New York–based debt fund, is secured by a portfolio that includes four office properties in Texas totaling approximately 870,000 square feet and 16 single-tenant NNN retail assets located across the Southeast and Midwest. The transaction represents the second acquisition between DIG and this lender.

Mike Guterman, Senior Vice President in BWE’s Los Angeles office, arranged the acquisition capital from a large private equity fund. Following closing, the venture intends to secure 60% note-on-note financing to enhance leverage.

DIG continues to focus on acquiring loans backed by high-quality real estate assets where underlying performance remains strong, but ownership is challenged by capital structure issues such as maturity defaults or refinancing constraints.

With this latest transaction, DIG has now completed five high-quality non-performing loan acquisitions in 2025 totaling approximately $215 million, further demonstrating its ability to identify and execute on distressed and opportunistic debt investments in today’s evolving credit environment.

Constellation Real Estate Partners has sold Constellation Post Oak, a newly developed, two-building 424,011-square-foot industrial property at 14942-15012 S Post Oak Road in Houston to LBA Realty. 

Constellation Real Estate Partners acquired the land in partnership with a real estate fund advised by Crow Holdings Capital in March 2022 and completed development of Constellation Post Oak in 2023.  Designed by Powers Brown Architecture and Langan Engineering, the project includes two state-of-the-art buildings totaling 424,011 square feet. 

Building 1 is 302,825 square feet and offers a cross-dock configuration with 36-foot clear height, and Building 2 is 121,186 square feet with a front-load configuration and 32-foot clear height.  The project features multiple points of ingress/egress with full circulation, trailer parking, ESFR sprinkler systems, and LED lighting. Constellation Post Oak is 82 percent leased to D&R Signs and US Elogistics Services.

Nathan Wynne of CBRE represented Constellation Real Estate Partners in the sale. LBA Realty represented itself.

Constellation Post Oak is ideally located proximate to Beltway 8, the preferred route for distribution throughout the Houston MSA. It is also located only nine miles from the Texas Medical Center, the largest medical complex in the world, adjacent to Fort Bend County, the second-fastest growing county in the U.S. from 2015-2020, and in close proximity to Houston’s inner-loop neighborhoods.

The global facilities management industry continues its rapid growth, with total spending projected to surpass $3 trillion by 2026, according to the latest research from JLL.

To put this massive figure in perspective, it equals the entire annual GDP of France, currently the world’s seventh-largest economy. However, this massive sector faces mounting pressure. According to JLL’s Global State of Facilities Management Report 2025, 84% of FM leaders cite budget constraints and escalating operational costs as their primary concern, driving a critical need to balance cost efficiency with occupant experience and operational excellence.

“Facilities management should no longer be viewed as a mere cost center, but a strategic business enabler that fortifies resilience, fuels productivity and ultimately creates a competitive advantage,” said Paul Morgan, Global Chief Operating Officer of Real Estate Management Services at JLL. “In an environment marked by volatility, uncertainty and ambiguity, the need for more intelligent, AI powered by data-driven facilities management has never been more essential.”

Economic uncertainty and geopolitical tensions have intensified focus on FM cost optimization, and leaders are addressing these cost pressure through sophisticated outsourcing and supply chain strategies rather than simple cost-cutting measures. Fifty-eight percent of organizations are consolidating contracts and suppliers to leverage volume buying power, while 52% prioritize providers with greater self-delivery capabilities and 37% actively partner with service providers to identify joint cost-saving opportunities.

Operational resilience and human-centric experience drive strategic value

Beyond cost management, operational reliability and resilience ties with occupant wellbeing and workplace safety as the second-highest FM priority for organizations. Business continuity planning for mission-critical environments like data centers, hospitals and labs leads risk management priorities, followed by aging infrastructure replacement and modernization and workforce contingency planning to address skilled labor shortages.

“Forward-thinking facilities management builds organizational resilience through proactive risk management strategies that anticipate and prepare for a wide range of interconnected vulnerabilities,” said Wei Xie, Global Head of Research and Strategy, Workplace Management at JLL. “From workforce contingency planning to energy sourcing to data governance and protection in the age of AI, effective risk management requires balancing immediate operational needs with long-term strategic objectives that align with the organization’s growth roadmap.”

Survey respondents’ prioritization of occupant wellbeing and workplace safety demonstrates FM’s impact beyond bricks and mortar and its evolution toward human-centric operations. This focus directly impacts core business value, with JLL’s 2025 Workforce Preference Barometer showing an 84% correlation between positive workplace experiences and favorable attitudes toward office attendance.

“The next generation of facilities managers must incorporate a hospitality mindset that enhances user experience to deliver safety, comfort, convenience and wellness benefits – ultimately elevating brand value,” said Christian Whitaker, Global Head of Technical Services and Sustainability at JLL. “With the built environment responsible for 42% of global carbon emissions, sustainability initiatives can improve energy efficiencies, reduce emissions, lower costs and improve resiliency while also supporting occupant wellbeing.”

Still, safety confidence reveals concerning gaps; while 70% of organizations express confidence in their FM safety protocols, 30% report low to moderate confidence, highlighting critical vulnerabilities. The top safety challenges include developing a safety-first culture, training and tech enablement; regulatory compliance and safety standards; and physical workplace hazards and incidents.

AI and technology adoption accelerates FM transformation

Despite cost pressures, 32% of organizations plan to increase their FM software investment in the coming year. As FM technology investments remain focused on immediate operational returns, work order management leads FM software investment priorities at 57%, followed by asset lifecycle insights and decision-making for capital asset replacement.

“Organizations are prioritizing investments that deliver fast operational returns through automated reporting, predictive maintenance capabilities and intelligent work order systems demonstrating the ability to harness the power of AI,” said Tim Bernardez, Global Head of Workplace Management Technologies, at JLL. “However, integration challenges persist, with 54% citing compatibility issues with legacy infrastructure and cost constraints as top barriers, while 41% struggle with data quality and security issues.”

The FM industry has increased AI adoption, with 28% of organizations actively embedding AI solutions in their FM operations, representing a shift from experimental pilots to scaled deployment. FM-specific AI applications are delivering measurable operational benefits, with asset lifecycle solutions and automated record keeping being some of the top function areas.

Aging workforce crisis deepens as workers near retirement

While the FM industry is projected to expand by more than $800 billion globally by 2030, the industry faces significant labor shortages to meet surging demand. For example, 39% of facilities managers in the U.S. are above the age of 55, significantly higher than the 28% in this age range across all occupations. The aging workforce and insufficient talent pipeline has escalated labor market competition and hiring costs, while exacerbating talent scarcity in rural, remote and high-cost-of-living areas. 

As mentioned above, skilled trade labor shortage ranks as a significant concern, prompting comprehensive workforce transformation strategies. Organizations are responding through succession planning and knowledge transfer, cross-training initiatives and technology augmentation to enhance human capabilities.