Two of the three leading indicators for U.S. commercial real estate ended 2024 on an upbeat note, particularly on the lending and construction phase, while design billing continued to lag.

Speakers mixed good news and uncertainty at the “ULI New York: Real Estate Outlook 2025" event, held January 22, 2025, at the Stern School of Business at New York University in Manhattan by ULI New York in partnership with NYU Stern | Chen Institute.

According to Morningstar DBRS, the Los Angeles–area wildfires have caused record property damage, with insured losses that could reach more than $30 billion. Despite many uncertainties on the path ahead for recovery and rebuilding of property and infrastructure, solutions are likely to require a lot of time and capital, as well as public and private stakeholders working in tandem.

10 projects model ways to prepare the built environment for climate stresses and shocks

The third annual Urban Land Institute Award for Excellence was presented to Walt Disney World/Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID) at ULI’s November meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Yesterday, more than 400 commercial real estate professionals and elected officials gathered at the National Building Museum for the third annual Future Forum, a regional conference for public and private-sector leaders.

When my wife and I moved back to the Los Angeles area in 2000, we bought a three-bedroom Spanish-style home two blocks south of the Altadena/Pasadena border, and just a few blocks from the neighborhoods lost in the Eaton fire this past January. It was a special home for us: our first child was born there, and we loved starting our family in such a racially and socio-economically diverse residential community.

The Colorado Rockies’ ownership leased a parking lot adjacent to Coors Field in order to construct McGregor Square, a 3.2-acre (1.3 ha) mixed-use development that serves baseball fans, tourists, and the broader community.

Construction cost inflation continued to moderate in 2024. According to the global construction consulting firm Rider Levett Bucknall, cost inflation for North America increased 1.11 percent in the fourth quarter and rose 4.69 percent on a year-over-year basis. However, the Trump administration’s push for higher tariffs is reigniting concerns around higher costs ahead for real estate developers.

It’s no secret that insurance costs for commercial real estate have been rising significantly for many property owners across Europe, which, in turn, affects net operating incomes for many of them. Many factors are at play to explain the surge in higher premiums, including expensive and scarce reinsurance, inflation, and regulatory restrictions.

A recent ULI member–exclusive webinar titled “Climate Risk & Insurance: Is the global real estate sector entering an insurability crisis?” addressed the rising cost of property insurance premiums, impacts on commercial real estate, and strategies for protecting long-term profitability.

As global temperatures rise from accelerating climate change, extreme temperature swings‚ both cold snaps and heat waves‚ are causing increasing damage and disruption. However, extreme cold and storms that bring snow, ice, and freezing rain can receive less focus than warm-weather hazards such as blistering heat and powerful hurricanes.

ULI New York recently hosted a panel “The Changing Face of Commercial Real Estate—a Program in Recognition of Black History Month,” through a partnership among ULI New York, the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY), and Council of Urban Real Estate (CURE), at REBNY’s Manhattan office, highlighting successful professionals of color.

In the journey toward embedding racial equity in real estate development, the 10 Principles for Embedding Racial Equity Development report, published by Urban Land Institute, serves as more than just a set of guidelines—they are seeds of transformation. When thoughtfully planted in the soil of our companies, projects, and communities, these seeds have the potential to grow into something profound: stronger, more equitable systems that uplift everyone.

A group of experts representing ULI visited Buffalo, New York, last November to make recommendations for reviving the city’s Jefferson Avenue Corridor, the main thoroughfare of a historically black area that has suffered a decline in commercial, social, and civic activity and engagement as the result of decades of disinvestment and a recent racially motivated shooting.