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Durable Demand Drivers: Where Commercial Real Estate Wins in 2026

In this episode of Wealth Unfiltered, Spencer Levy, Global Client Strategist and Senior Economic Advisor at CBRE, joins us to break down the evolving commercial real estate landscape and what investors should be watching as we move through 2026.

Spencer provides a high-level view of where we are in the current market cycle, highlighting a transition toward normalization, improving capital markets activity, and a more selective investment environment driven by fundamentals rather than financial engineering.

A key theme throughout the conversation is the increasing importance of operational excellence. In today’s environment, strong operators are positioned to generate outsized returns, even within the same asset class.

Find Spencer here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencerlevy

CBRE Speaker & Profile Page: https://www.cbre.com/people/spencer-levy

Learn more about CBRE here:

https://www.cbre.com

Key Takeaways

  • The market is entering a phase of normalization, with gradual improvements in capital markets activity and transaction volume
  • Investment performance is shifting toward operational execution, with less reliance on cap rate compression or declining interest rates
  • Institutional capital is increasingly targeting value-add strategies and alternative sectors such as student housing, senior housing, and medical office
  • Multifamily fundamentals remain supported by long-term housing shortages, despite short-term supply pressures in select markets
  • Submarket selection is critical, with durable demand drivers, including job growth, infrastructure, and population trends, driving long-term performance
  • Investors today have more optionality across asset classes, allowing for more strategic portfolio construction based on risk tolerance and time horizon
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