Category: Spotlight Content

NEREJ invitied commercial real estate professionals to share their perspective on the trends, opportunities and challenges shaping the market this fall and what they see ahead for 2027.

What trends or changes are having the greatest impact on your sector of commercial real estate this fall, and how are they shaping your business? There is continued demand for outpatient healthcare and human services environments, including primary care, behavioral health, rehabilitation, and specialized therapy. Providers are increasingly focused on spaces that support efficient operations while creating a welcoming and comfortable experience for patients and staff.

Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 1031 allows a property owner, who holds property for “the productive use in a trade or business or for investment”, to defer paying any capital gains taxes if the property owner sells such property, identifies “like kind” property within forty-five days of the sale, and acquires other “like kind” property within 180 days of the sale.

The recent increase in government-backed benchmark rates, particularly U.S. Treasury yields, is working its way into lending rates. The 10-year Treasury rose from 4.18% at year-end 2025 to 5.21% on October 13, 2026, an increase of 103 basis points. Because many fixed-rate commercial mortgages are priced at a spread over Treasury yields, a higher benchmark generally produces a higher loan coupon unless lender spreads compress enough to offset the increase.

As Boston enters the fall housing season, the market finds itself at an important crossroads. After several years of rapid appreciation, limited inventory, and elevated borrowing costs, homeowners, buyers, developers, and real estate professionals are asking a familiar question: How do we navigate a market defined by both opportunity and uncertainty?

As Sullivan & Sullivan Auctioneers approaches its 20th anniversary in 2027, the award-winning, woman-owned firm is entering an exciting new chapter, expanding its presence in New England’s commercial real estate market while building on nearly two decades of auction expertise, client relationships and successful transactions.

Before writing this article, I revisited my Fall Previews from 2023, 2024, and 2025. In retrospect, they captured the broader market accurately. The main themes remain relevant today: more buyers than sellers; a limited supply of hotels for sale; and a growing trend toward renovating and retrofitting older, smaller motels.

The Newmarket Industrial Development Area (IDA) is the largest and one of the last industrial areas in Boston. Over the years, we have represented buyers, tenants, landlords, and sellers in Newmarket and around those South Boston industrial areas.

I’m very fortunate to get asked to work on a wide variety of real estate matters. Despite over 25 years of experience as a broker, it’s common to run into issues outside my scope of expertise. Fortunately, I’ve built a great network of affiliated professionals over the years so that I always have someone I can get assistance from. Let me share a few examples.

As 2026 draws to a close, Rhode Island’s commercial real estate market reflects a period of measured adjustment. While underlying demand remains evident across several property sectors, elevated costs, constrained development activity, and changing investment expectations continue to influence market conditions.

As we enter the fourth quarter of 2026, the Rhode Island industrial real estate market remains relatively stable, despite some softening in leasing activity over the past year. Vacancy rates remain low at approximately 5%, an increase of 0.1 percentage points from a year ago (source: CoStar).

As we slide from the beautiful colors of the forests of the Fall to the music and festivities of the Holiday season, restaurant owners become concerned at what will 2027 bring? As the daily cost of operating increases each month, the focus always seems to end up with the cost of occupancy.