Alternative lenders increased their market share in the commercial real estate debt sector in 2018, panelists said at a ULI North Texas event in March. That trend is likely to continue this year as competition among all types of debt providers heats up capital markets.

Texas markets are meeting a healthy demand for multifamily housing from millennials who are reaching renting age and baby boomers who are downsizing, while attracting investment from around the United States. At a recent conference, speakers said that fundamentals were generally strong with higher cap rates possible in tertiary markets such as Midland-Odessa, Waco, and Lubbock.

By using 3-D printers to build lightweight but strong plastic frameworks for conventional building materials such as concrete, builders may soon be able to create complex structures with unorthodox shapes and contours that would be difficult or even impossible with today’s construction methods, said a speaker at the ULI Fall Meeting in Dallas. And better yet, they will be able to fashion intricate, customized interiors and exteriors at no additional cost.

A new ULI program that helps office tenants design and manage their spaces to reduce energy consumption could help the real estate industry reduce emissions that are driving climate change. But at the program’s rollout at ULI’s 2016 Fall Meeting in Dallas, panelists said that the new ULI Tenant Energy Optimization Program is likely to have a more far-reaching impact than that of many previous environmental initiatives because it offers a compelling, well-documented business case that energy efficiency can generate a lucrative return on investment.

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport is the most successful American template for how a major airport can become a core for real estate development and economic growth. Now, planning is taking it to a higher altitude.