2026 Mid-Year Review: Connor Kenworthy, Hayes & Sherry

What projects, initiatives, or types of work have been keeping your team busiest during the first half of 2026?
The first half of 2026 has kept us busy on both sides of the table, representing tenants and landlords across Rhode Island’s industrial, retail, and flex markets. We’ve helped businesses relocate, expand, and renew, and we’ve worked just as closely with property owners to market vacant space and build leasing strategies that actually move. Private equity has stayed active throughout the period, fueling acquisitions, expansions, and new investments. And when we haven’t been on deals, we’ve been investing in our own systems and technology to give clients sharper market intelligence and faster turnaround.

What trends or shifts have stood out most to you so far this year within your industry?
The defining trend is discipline. Businesses are making real estate decisions more deliberately, weighing cost, flexibility, and long-term fit more carefully than they have in years. Industrial and flex space remain the standouts on the demand side, particularly among the small and mid-sized companies that drive so much of our local economy. Technology is also reshaping how space gets marketed and how tenants search — a shift we’ve leaned into hard.

What challenges or opportunities have had the biggest impact on your business during the first half of 2026
Shifting interest rates, elevated construction costs, evolving space requirements, and a steady undercurrent of political and geopolitical noise have made this a market that rewards patience. Some owners, tenants, and investors have responded by stepping back, waiting for a clearer read before they commit. That caution is understandable, but it’s also where good brokerage earns its keep. When the picture is murky, people want an advisor who can cut through it — someone to help them weigh options and negotiate from a position of strength. Staying flexible, responsive, and genuinely focused on our clients has been the single biggest driver of our year.

As we look ahead to the second half of the year, what are you watching most closely?
The second half comes down to a few signals: where rates settle, whether business confidence firms up, and whether more owners decide it’s finally time to bring product to market. We’ll be tracking how demand rotates across industrial, retail, and office as those answers come in. But whatever the data says, our read hasn’t changed — the firms and investors who stay informed and move decisively will keep finding room to grow, and we intend to be right alongside them.