{"id":791709,"date":"2026-05-12T19:19:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T19:19:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/791709\/"},"modified":"2026-05-12T19:19:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T19:19:19","slug":"in-dallas-fort-worth-the-cre-recovery-will-be-uneven-commercial-observer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/791709\/","title":{"rendered":"In Dallas-Fort Worth, the CRE Recovery Will Be Uneven \u2013 Commercial Observer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dallas-Fort Worth\u2019s commercial real estate recovery is poised to be Texas-sized.<\/p>\n

\"MichaelMichael Hyun speaks at the Commercial Observer Dallas Development and Investment Forum. PHOTO: Allan Willis Jr.<\/p>\n

As DFW remains one of the best-positioned U.S. markets for long-term growth, some of commercial real estate\u2019s biggest capital providers, developers and investors gathered in late April for Commercial Observer\u2019s third annual Dallas Development and Investment Forum. There they discussed how the market has moved past the worst of the valuation reset with capital returning to the scene.<\/p>\n

SEE ALSO: Savills\u2019 Geoffrey Newman Wins REBNY\u2019s 2025 Commercial Sales Award<\/a><\/p>\n

Panelists at the forum at the Santander Tower<\/b> also said development is more difficult, but it\u2019s not dead, and the Dallas-Fort Worth market shows consistent demand for housing, industrial, infrastructure and mixed-use development.<\/p>\n

The first panel, \u201cCapital Markets Update: Where Smart Capital Is Being Deployed,\u201d featured Michael Hyun<\/b>, chief investment officer at owner and investor Crow Holdings<\/a><\/b>; Kris Lowe<\/b>, vice chairman of debt and structured finance at CBRE<\/a><\/b>; Adam Simon<\/b>, managing director of real estate at KKR<\/a><\/b>; and moderator R. Davis Powell<\/b>, partner at law firm King & Spalding<\/a><\/b>.<\/p>\n

The panelists agreed that the market is no longer in free fall, but still early in recovery.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are lots of tailwinds right now in the commercial real estate market,\u201d Powell said. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen a bifurcated or K-shaped recovery, both within asset classes and across asset classes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hyun described the industry as being in \u201cthe first or second innings\u201d of a new cycle after several difficult years driven by inflation, higher interest rates and thin capital flows.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s probably been the worst-performing sector for several years now, but I think you are starting to see that bottom,\u201d Hyun said.<\/p>\n

\"NadiaNadia Christian (left) and Jon McAvoy speak at the Commercial Observer Dallas Development and Investment Forum. PHOTO: Allan Willis Jr.<\/p>\n

Simon said values had reset by roughly 20 to 40 percent depending on the sector, but \u201cover the last 12 months, that valuation has clearly bottomed,\u201d creating a better environment for lending and investment. Lowe pointed to broader liquidity as one of the clearest signs of improvement.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt does feel like we have full participation once again, starting with the major money center banks, the regional banks,\u201d Lowe said.<\/p>\n

Major money center banks, regional banks, life companies, commercial mortgage-backed securities lenders and debt funds are all back in the market, he said, creating more competition and helping push transaction volume higher. Also, CBRE\u2019s Dallas office is already seeing more broker opinion-of-value activity, and Lowe said 2026 closings are on pace to exceed 2025 if the current trend continues.<\/p>\n

Hyun said \u201cbeds and sheds\u201d remain durable \u2014 referring to residential and industrial \u2014 while the pullback in new construction could create a more balanced market three to five years from now. Rather than rhyming, Lowe went the alliteration route and said CBRE sees the most activity still in \u201cliving and logistics.\u201d<\/p>\n

Simon said KKR is still lending across asset classes when the real estate, sponsor and basis are right, citing recent Dallas-area loans tied to multifamily, industrial, office, hospitality and retail.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"NadiaNadia Christian speaks during a panel at the Commercial Observer Development and Investor Forum in Dallas. PHOTO: Allan Willis Jr.<\/p>\n

A second panel, \u201cDistress and Opportunity: Strategies for Growing the Pipeline and Getting Deals Done,\u201d featured Nadia Christian<\/b>, partner at developer and investor Wolverine Interests<\/a><\/b>, and Jon McAvoy<\/b>, chief investment officer at PRP Real Assets<\/a><\/b>. (Hunter Graul<\/b>, partner and head of acquisitions at Platte Canyon Capital<\/a><\/b>, was listed on the agenda but was unable to participate.)<\/p>\n

McAvoy said the market may be moving beyond \u201cdistress\u201d as the dominant theme, but is still offering opportunistic returns as assets built or delivered from 2022 to 2024 are repriced and recapitalized.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe elephant in the room is equity,\u201d he said of the return to previously out-of-favor sectors, including office. McAvoy said lenders are helping the market clear troubled deals through refinancings, debt funds, mezzanine capital and balance sheet lending.<\/p>\n

Christian said Wolverine works with cities to solve problems around economics, design and community, and that municipal incentives can change how lenders and capital partners perceive risk. For example, her recent work in Arlington, a Dallas suburb, focuses on connecting underutilized sites to broader civic and university plans.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of our impactful work has been with public-private partnerships,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"TishaTisha Vaidya (center) speaks during a panel with Andy Carmody (left) and Edwin D. Tatum at the Commercial Observer Development and Investor Forum in Dallas. PHOTO: Allan Willis Jr.<\/p>\n

The final panel, \u201cFinance and Investment Trends Defining 2026: Identifying the Leading Asset Classes and Navigating the New Capital Stack,\u201d featured Andy Carmody<\/b>, senior managing director of investments at single-family rental firm Tricon<\/a><\/b>; Ted Norman<\/b>, managing director of commercial real estate at First Citizens Bank<\/a><\/b>; Edwin D. Tatum<\/b>, CEO of TatumTek Modular Systems<\/a><\/b>; Tisha Vaidya<\/b>, co-founder and principal of Elizabeth Property Group<\/a><\/b>; and moderator Tamela Thornton<\/b>, executive director of ULI Dallas-Fort Worth<\/a><\/b>.<\/p>\n

Thornton framed the conversation around a market in which data centers remain the \u201cdarling\u201d<\/a> of DFW, while construction in other sectors has slowed and costs have risen.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve seen costs increasing by roughly about 45 percent from the pandemic, and we\u2019re also starting to see some financing and policy uncertainty that are affecting feasibility,\u201d Thornton said.<\/p>\n

Norman said First Citizens is still focused on multifamily, particularly deals emerging from stressed capital stacks, recapitalizations and cash-in refinancings. He said the bank has tapped the brakes on speculative industrial, but still likes infill, shallow-bay industrial with mark-to-market rent upside.<\/p>\n

Carmody said development remains difficult because equity can often earn similar returns in credit positions today: \u201cWhy would you put equity and new financing on a new development when you can lend to that development down the street and earn nearly the same return in a credit position?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TedTed Norman (left), Tamela Thornton (center) and Andy Carmody speak at the Commercial Observer Dallas Development and Investment Forum. PHOTO: Allan Willis Jr.<\/p>\n

He also argued that Dallas and Texas remain among the best places in the country to build, acquire or work out real estate investments.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you can do it, you can do it in Dallas,\u201d Carmody said. \u201cYou can do it in Texas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vaidya said affordable housing operators are seeing equity partners focus more heavily on cash-on-cash returns rather than future value creation.<\/p>\n

\u201cMore so now than ever, equity partners are really not willing to rely on that back-end value to prop up the IRR returns,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019ve never really relied on cap rate compression, but even then, it\u2019s just really not a believable story anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tatum said modular construction is gaining traction as developers look for cost certainty, faster delivery and ways to make projects pencil despite higher construction costs. He said TatumTek has projects in Toronto, Dallas and Austin preparing to break ground, and developers are turning to modular when traditional construction cannot make the numbers work.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve been able to make the numbers work,\u201d he said, \u201cbecause of our ability to reduce cost as well as have cost certainty and deliver those projects with the velocity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gregory Cornfield can be reached at gcornfield@commercialobserver.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dallas-Fort Worth\u2019s commercial real estate recovery is poised to be Texas-sized. Michael Hyun speaks at the Commercial Observer…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":791710,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5138],"tags":[323200,5229,323201,2174,4282,2556,323202,53330,525,7371,7372,323203,93049,323204,323205,7745,323206,13831,323207,7629,323208,189216,323209,323210,358,323211,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-791709","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fort-worth","8":"tag-adam-simon","9":"tag-america","10":"tag-andy-carmody","11":"tag-capital-markets","12":"tag-channel","13":"tag-development","14":"tag-edwin-d-tatum","15":"tag-event-recap","16":"tag-finance","17":"tag-fort-worth","18":"tag-fortworth","19":"tag-hunter-graul","20":"tag-investments-sales","21":"tag-jon-mcavoy","22":"tag-kris-lowe","23":"tag-leases","24":"tag-michael-hyun","25":"tag-more","26":"tag-nadia-christian","27":"tag-players","28":"tag-r-davis-powell","29":"tag-santander-tower","30":"tag-tamela-thornton","31":"tag-ted-norman","32":"tag-texas","33":"tag-tisha-vaidya","34":"tag-tx","35":"tag-united-states","36":"tag-united-states-of-america","37":"tag-unitedstates","38":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","39":"tag-us","40":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116563226708477040","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/791709","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=791709"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/791709\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/791710"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=791709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=791709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=791709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}