Despite a still tepid transaction market, commercial and multifamily mortgage loan originations increased in the second quarter—up 66 percent compared to a year ago, and up 48 percent from the first quarter of 2025, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. But what is the outlook for access to debt and equity capital in the second half of the year? Apart from interest rates, where are the biggest pain points in the market for commercial real estate financing?

In 2015, Austin, Texas’ mayor at the time, Steve Adler, brought together business leaders, real estate professionals, and housing experts to take on the crisis in affordable rental housing and the risks it posed to the city’s workforce stability and economic sustainability. With insights and research from a ULI Technical Advisory Panel and ULI’s Terwilliger Center for Housing, the Austin Housing Conservancy fund was born, offering a revolutionary approach to preserving workforce housing. Now known as the Texas Housing Conservancy, the fund became the nation’s first to combine a nonprofit investment manager, Affordable Central Texas, with an open-end private equity fund.

A seminar organized by the ULI Singapore NEXT Committee presented attendees with the little-known concept of real estate “tokenization,” or fractional investing/trading, as a potential bridge between private investors and direct ownership. Although not new, tokenization in real estate is a niche market, particularly in Asia Pacific, with Singapore hosting a small number of the specialized digital platforms.

Two Art in Place roundtables, hosted by the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge and ULI Louisiana in July 2025, set out to reimagine culture as infrastructure—not just a source of murals or festivals, but a cornerstone of downtown’s growth.

Standing in the shadow of Regions Field and within earshot of Railroad Park, Birmingham’s Urban Supply hints at what the next chapter of downtown life could look like. Once-quiet brick warehouses are being steadily reimagined into patios, storefronts, and gathering spaces along a new pedestrian alley. Early tenants have begun to open their doors, and programming is slowly bringing people into the district. While the project is still in its early stages, the framework is in place for a vibrant hub that will grow block by block in the years ahead.

In the Sydney suburb of Marrickville, two not-for-profit organizations—Fresh Hope Communities, the public benevolent institution entity of churches of Christ in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory; and Nightingale Housing of Brunswick, Victoria—came together to develop a building that holds 54 units renting at 80 percent of market rates, as well as two community-focused commercial spaces. The Churches of Christ Property Trust has provided a 99-year lease for the land, which allows the units to remain affordable far beyond a more typical 10-year period.

The mission of the ULI Terwilliger Center for Housing has been to ensure that everyone has a home that meets their needs at a price they can afford. Established in 2007 with a gift from longtime member and former ULI chairman J. Ronald Terwilliger, the Center’s activities include technical assistance engagements, forums and convenings, research and publications, and an awards program. The goal is to catalyze the production and preservation of a full spectrum of housing options.

The mechanics of planning and building a major development may be familiar to real estate professionals, but the entire process can be opaque and intimidating to laypersons in the communities most directly affected. ULI’s new report, Development for Nondevelopers, aims to bridge that knowledge gap. It offers a clear, practical guide to how development projects come together—and how communities can assure the project ultimately meets local needs.

Many mixed-use projects get the hardware right. They feature a thoughtful mix of uses, beautiful buildings, and name-brand tenants. Far fewer get the “software” right—the pedestrian flow, the plaza experience, the hospitality-level service, and all the subtle details that turn a mixed-use project into something more. These elements transform a development into a vibrant, urbanesque destination—one that delivers on the promise of being a true community gathering place.

ULI’s Randall Lewis Center for Sustainability in Real Estate has now released the fifth and final installment of its premier primer on achieving net-zero-building carbon emissions through dynamic engagement between owners and tenants. The series explores practical strategies for reducing emissions at both the asset and portfolio levels—highlighting how all parties working together can drive meaningful emissions reductions across all aspects of real estate.

A two-week program, hosted by UCL’s Department of Civil, Environmental & Geomatic Engineering and led by José Torero, Matthew Heywood, and Michael Woodrow, with a cohort of early-career professionals tested the limits of The London Plan and imaged what could lie ahead through a fellowship themed “Innovating Tomorrow’s Resilience.”

Climate Week NYC, run by the nonprofit Climate Group and held in parallel with the United Nations General Assembly, makes its annual return this September 21–28 with hundreds of in-person, hybrid, and virtual events. This jam-packed week brings together a powerful cross-section of climate leaders, including inspiring activists; visionary artists; and industry leaders in real estate, business, finance, and government.

Texas has experienced a prolonged economic boom, bringing with it a significant explosion in population. From 2000 to 2023, the state’s population grew by a remarkable 46.3 percent. This level of growth inevitably places pressure on cities, whether to update infrastructure, revise planning regulations, or address other critical urban challenges.

Currently, vacancy rates in the Washington, D.C. area are around 20 percent, in line with the national average. The nationwide housing shortage, meanwhile, has hit a record high of 4.7 million homes, despite a five-year uptrend in new construction. The deficit is particularly pronounced in highly desirable urban and inner-suburban locations such as Alexandria, Virginia.

As aging retail continue to evolve, one increasingly popular trend has been to redesign malls as town centers—recalling a time when such commercial districts were the heart and soul of a community. Mall–to–town center retrofits are emerging throughout the nation, especially in suburban communities, where pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use environments are highly attractive to millennials now raising families.