2026 Commercial Real Estate Market Update
As we move into 2026, the commercial real estate sector continues to navigate a rapidly evolving landscape shaped by shifting capital markets, regulatory developments, cybersecurity risks, and changing patterns in how businesses use physical space. Market participants are adapting to persistent economic uncertainty, evolving workplace strategies, and continued demand for specialized asset classes such as data centers and logistics facilities.
Clark Hill’s 2026 Commercial Real Estate Market Update examines key legal and market developments shaping the industry. Together, these perspectives provide practical insights and guidance to help real estate professionals anticipate risks, identify opportunities, and make informed decisions in a complex and dynamic environment.
Learn more about our CRE Industry Practice or connect with one of our CRE legal professionals.
Powering the Next Wave of Data Center Growth: Behind-the-Meter Solutions and the AI-Driven Energy Shift
By Lindsay Sherwood Fouse-Hopkins
In our 2025 outlook, we identified power availability and interconnection delays as emerging constraints on data center development. We also noted a growing tension at the state and local level, as jurisdictions sought to balance economic development – often tied to redevelopment of brownfield or underutilized sites – against infrastructure strain and community concerns.
In 2026, those dynamics have intensified and, in many markets, become the defining factor in whether projects move forward at all. At the same time, the rapid acceleration of artificial intelligence (AI) workloads is fundamentally reshaping electricity demand curves, exposing the limits of legacy grid infrastructure and catalyzing a structural shift toward behind-the-meter (“BTM”) power solutions.
Adapting Suburban Office Space for New Uses
By Thomas Ball and Chad Poznansky
In the post-pandemic world, office leasing has continued to grow year over year, but the strength of the growth is inconsistent across the asset class. Notably, Class A, downtown office space, has rebounded while the market for suburban office space has not seen the same success.
Real Estate Project Financing with Qualified 501(c)(3) Bonds
By Kristen Erickson and Jacques Moye
As debt, equity and other funding sources for real estate developments dwindle and become scarce and competitive, developers and real estate owners are becoming more creative in their project financing strategies and mix.
ESG & Sustainability Considerations for Commercial Real Estate in 2026
By Maram Salaheldin and Lindsay Sherwood Fouse-Hopkins
While economic and policy uncertainty may persist, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and sustainability considerations have become fundamental components of asset resilience and long-term valuation, particularly as the commercial real estate (CRE) industry faces rising insurance costs and the physical risks of climate change.
CIRCIA Is Coming: What Commercial Real Estate and Facilities Owners Need to Know About Cyber Incident Reporting
By Joshua Farber and Jason Schwent
Although the COVID-19 pandemic has ebbed from the daily lives of workers, its impact on hybrid work continues. While no consensus has emerged, the hybrid work model, which requires splitting the work week between going into the office and working from home, has grown in popularity.