DAILY TOP 5

U.S. malls are entering a more structurally sound phase, with occupancy, rents and net operating income all trending higher, according to a new report from retail and technology analytics firm Coresight Research. Those gains are increasingly concentrated among top-tier, well-located properties, Coresight said. These malls are benefiting from limited new construction, sustained retailer demand for prime space and a strong ability to replace vacancies with high-performing tenants. Malls

Just a few decades ago, Downtown Phoenix became a ghost town after office workers commuted back to the suburbs. Today, investments across multiple sectors have turned Downtown Phoenix into a vibrant community at all hours for all ages. While there was some transformation that started in the late ’80s and early ’90s, the plan that truly shifted downtown was largely driven in 2004 by Mayor Phil Gordon, which led to the development of America West Arena (now Mortgage Matchup

Cap rates have moved up sharply since the Fed’s rate hikes began in 2022, but they may still have further to climb. That’s the takeaway from recent analysis by First American Financial Corp., in which Xander Snyder, senior commercial real estate economist, notes that the pace of the increase has made it feel more dramatic than it actually is in historical context. Even after the recent run-up, cap rates remain relatively low compared to long-term norms. The firm’s all-asset Potential

A limited-service hotel can run at lower occupancy levels and still generate meaningful gross operating profit margins, or GOP margins. A review of a small sample of limited-service hotels across major U.S. markets shows they operate under a different profit model than full-service hotels, with lower break-even points, stronger flow-through and stronger margins. Across this subset, break-even occupancy levels for the majority of markets generally range between the

A new shopping center has been proposed in Gilbert near the busy intersection of Williams Field Road and the Loop 202 freeway. Going by the name SanTan Crossings, the project would include multiple restaurants, a bank and retailers. One portion of the 20-acre site does not have a plan yet and will be used for “future retail development,” according to documents filed with the town of Gilbert. The new center will be located at the southeast corner of Williams Field Road and San Tan Village

The Goodyear Planning and Zoning Commission reviewed a request from developer Wealth Hospitality to rezone and amend the development guidelines for a 35-acre site near the NEC of McDowell Road and Bullard Avenue to allow the development of a four-story, 241-room dual-branded Hilton Garden Inn & Homewood Suites hotel project. The Commission recommended approval in its May 6 meeting. The 4.92-acre hotel site lies within the 16.57-acre West Parcel of the overall Palm Valley

RED Development has fully leased the office building at Biltmore Fashion Park, signing VanTrust and Phoenix Design One (PDO), to bring the over 30,000-square-foot building to full occupancy. VanTrust, a national, family-held real estate development company, signed a lease on the second floor, relocating from its existing Phoenix office. PDO, a full-service interior architecture firm specializing in corporate office interiors, also signed a lease on the second floor, a move that

A family vacation to Disney World has gotten so expensive that Americans are increasingly opting for lower-cost, local entertainment offerings that still deliver shared experiences. And that shift is driving a wave of demand that’s reshaping retail real estate, according to JLL. The brokerage released a report, “Game On! Entertainment Report 2026,” at ICSC’s retail real estate conference in Las Vegas on Monday. The study found that “location-based entertainment has crossed from

Amkor Technology, the semiconductor packaging company, is set to get more than $32 million worth of land in Peoria’s future economic hub in the city’s northern region. Peoria leaders unanimously approved a purchase agreement that would give 67 acres near 96th Avenue and Amkor Way, known as “Parcel D,” to the company. The May 19 action was anticipated. The city, under a legal agreement, previously gave the company the right to have the first opportunity to buy the

The Greater Phoenix office market continues its post-pandemic recovery with strong leasing and a decline in total inventory as obsolete buildings are re-purposed. A recent report from Colliers documenting the first quarter 2026 shows positive net absorption for a second consecutive quarter. The Phoenix market is experiencing tremendous economic growth from manufacturing and technology, which is now spilling over into the office market. Strong leasing activity, along with the

After years of speculation and a high-profile ownership reset, One Camelback is no longer a question mark on the Uptown skyline. It is a construction site in motion. Kinella Capital, LLC, led by developer TK Stratton, has reached several key milestones at the long-stalled office-to-residential conversion, signaling that one of Phoenix’s most talked-about projects is firmly back on track for a fourth quarter 2026 completion. “The progress happening right now is what people have been

The country’s largest employee-owned electrical contractor acquired a Chandler medical building to turn into its new regional headquarters. San Jose, California-based Rosendin Electric, Inc. bought the two-story 100,622-square-foot building at 1450 S. Spectrum Boulevard within the Allred Park Place office campus. It’s near the Loop 202 and Loop 101 interchange, and just north of offices occupied by Northrop Grumman Corp. Rosendin bought the building May 1 for $17.7 million, according to

With 14 professional sports venues within an hour’s drive – a higher concentration than any city in the world – as well as multiple new or renovated college facilities, not to mention one of the world’s largest amateur sports complexes and enviable weather, Phoenix has amassed a diverse hosting resume. The Valley has been the site for multiple Super Bowls, most recently in 2023, and NCAA Division I Men’s Final Fours; a CFP National Championship; the 2024 NCAA Convention; the

Scarcity continues to define the retail real estate market, with constrained development pipelines and elevated replacement costs keeping available space near historic lows even as demand conditions soften, according to new data from CoStar Group. Net absorption has declined in three of the past five quarters, signaling a moderation in demand momentum. Yet availability has remained stubbornly tight — holding roughly 15% below its 10-year average — underscoring how limited

Newly released data from the U.S. Census Bureau reiterates the Valley’s strong demographic profile and provides deeper insight into where population gains are happening. In the five-year period from July 1, 2020, to July 1, 2025, the Phoenix metropolitan statistical area (MSA) added about 353,700 residents, the fourth-largest absolute gain in the United States. That amount represents a 7.3% cumulative increase, ranking 11th among the 56 MSAs with at least 1 million

The Shops at Halo Vista, an 11-acre mixed-use retail and hospitality development tucked inside the massive 2,400-acre master planned Halo Vista development in north Phoenix, is starting to look for tenants. Common Bond Development Group, the company behind several notable Valley projects including the Global Ambassador hotel and Park at 83 in Peoria, is developing the retail destination at the northwestern hard corner of the I-17 and Dove Valley Road. The center will

LAS VEGAS—At this year’s ICSC Las Vegas 2026 conference, experts agree that retail is evolving into a more operationally sophisticated, service-oriented and investment-attractive asset class. From logistics-driven site selection to the rise of experiential tenants and renewed institutional capital flows, industry leaders tell GlobeSt.com that the sector is entering a structurally different phase than the one investors faced just a few years ago. Executives at CBRE, for example, say the

From jobs and inflation to housing permits and population growth, here are the latest economic trends shaping the Arizona economy so far in 2026. The U.S. unemployment rate changed little at 4.3% in April, while total nonfarm payroll employment edged up by 115,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ May 8th employment situation summary. The unemployment rates for major worker groups showed little or no change in April, with teenagers (14.4%) having the

Dignity Health has signed on to build a state-of-the-art medical campus at the corner of Scottsdale Road and Loop 101 in north Phoenix, on 217 acres the Arizona Cardinals acquired last year for $136 million. This announcement marks Dignity Health Arizona, which is a member of CommonSpirit Health, as the first company to sign on to be part of the massive mixed-use development project the Cardinals are assembling on the land. Earlier this year, the team broke ground on its new

Retail sales rose slightly for the seventh consecutive month in April despite rising gas prices and stubborn inflation. Core retail sales (excluding restaurants, auto dealers and gas stations) inched up up 0.34% month over month in April and were up 5.53% year over year, according to the CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor, released by the National Retail Federation. That compared with increases of 0.41% month over month and 7.05% year over year in March. Sales rose month over over month in

Greater Phoenix’s industrial sector has reigned as the king of commercial real estate throughout the first half of this decade. The region’s rising reputation as the epicenter of U.S. manufacturing’s revival has brought the Valley global attention, with companies of all sizes considering whether to join the growing ecosystem. As the “Silicon Desert” continues to establish itself, the industrial market has responded to the surge of both supply and demand across multiple product types — but it

Thousands of apartment units are under construction or in the planning process in downtown Phoenix, but city officials said there is continued demand for residential development in the city’s core. Since 2015, more than 10,600 apartment units have opened in downtown Phoenix, Xandon Keating, deputy director of community and economic development for the city, said at a meeting of the Economic Development and Arts subcommittee on May 14. About 1,800 units are under

Hundreds of luxury condominiums are closer to being built within a $1 billion mixed-use community in north Scottsdale. The Scottsdale Planning Commission on May 13 unanimously recommended that City Council approve the removal of 1.3 million square feet of commercial space to make way for 350 for-sale units within the 126-acre One Scottsdale development. A date for the upcoming Council meeting was not discussed May 13. The ownership group for the land requested to make

Sale prices are rising as homebuying demand strengthens. U.S. pending homes sales jumped 9.6% year over year to their highest level since September 2022, on a seasonally adjusted basis. Pending sales are rising in every major U.S. metro except three (Houston, Detroit and Seattle). Mortgage-purchase applications are up 4% week over week. Strengthening demand is pushing up prices. The median home-sale price rose 2.2% year over year during the four weeks ending May 10, the