Brookfield's going vintage with a $428 million warehouse play, scooping up 53 older properties across Houston, Dallas, Nashville, and Atlanta just as everyone else is chasing shiny new logistics boxes. The deal (one of the largest warehouse portfolios to trade hands this year) is betting that cost-conscious tenants will downshift from pricey new builds to these mid-single-digit rent properties as tariffs squeeze margins. With the portfolio sitting at 96% occupancy, Brookfield's planning to push rents from mid to high-single digits as leases roll, banking on the reality that older warehouses still get the job done without the premium price tag. For investors watching warehouse oversupply hit decade-high vacancy rates of 7.3%, this contrarian play signals that value opportunities are emerging for those willing to look past the Class A beauty contest.

Fort Worth just dropped a bombshell economic development report showing $6.2 billion in planned investments (their best year in over a decade). The city's attracting major manufacturing projects and data centers that are pledging 4,000 new jobs if everything pencils out, marking a significant win for Texas metros competing for industrial and tech relocations. While development plans could still shift, these numbers reflect the growing momentum of companies looking beyond traditional coastal markets for expansion opportunities. For CRE investors, Fort Worth's haul is another data point confirming that secondary Sun Belt markets are capturing serious institutional capital.

Analysts are calling the Fed's rate cut a green light for institutional capital that's been sitting on the sidelines, predicting REITs will price in the benefits way faster than private real estate. The investment strategist sees particular opportunity in no-supply sectors like shopping centers, where fundamentals are strengthening without new construction threatening the balance. With REITs trading at discounts to private market valuations and offering access to niche property types you can't easily buy elsewhere, the public markets are positioning as the smart money play for this rate cycle. For investors weighing public versus private allocations, Moriarity's take suggests REITs could deliver the first-mover advantage as monetary policy shifts.

Chicago Fire FC just locked in local heavyweights Pepper Construction, GMA Construction Group, and All Construction Group for their $650 million stadium project at The 78, choosing hometown talent over national stadium specialists. The 22,000-seat venue (entirely privately financed by owner Joe Mansueto) will anchor the massive 62-acre riverfront development south of Roosevelt Road, with construction kicking off early 2026 for a 2028 completion. The joint venture marks a milestone for construction diversity in Chicago, with minority and small-business partners operating at the prime contractor level on a major civic project.

I used to think value-add meant gut renovations and major capital improvements.

Turns out, some of the biggest wins come from a simple conversation with your tenant about extending their lease.

Jonathan Hayek opened my eyes to this on the podcast. 

He targets industrial properties where good tenants have been in place for decades, but their lease expires in the next one to three years and rents are below market.

“Tenants usually just stay, especially if they've been there for decades, so they don't want to leave. And if you can raise the rent 10, 20, 30% with a new lease, that's a big win."

This is completely different from residential or office. 

These industrial tenants aren't shopping around. They've built their entire operation around that specific location. 

Their trucks are configured for those dock doors. Their employees know the commute. Their workflows are optimized for that exact space.

Moving would be a nightmare, and they know it.

Jonathan's tenants are glass manufacturers, commercial landscapers, cabinet makers, granite fabricators, plumbers, HVAC companies. Blue-collar businesses that need warehouse space to store equipment and trucks, plus a small office for their bookkeeper and receptionist.

When lease renewal time comes, these tenants weigh paying Jonathan a 5% increase versus the monumental task of moving and potentially doubling their rent at a new location. 

They're going to stay and pay the increase every single time.

I've seen this play out in my own portfolio!

We bought a multi-tenant industrial building in Tinley Park IL where several tenants were paying $4 per square foot on month-to-month leases. Market rate was $7. We didn't renovate anything. We just had conversations about lease extensions and brought everyone to market rate over 18 months.

That property went from break-even to strong cashflow without spending a dime on improvements.

The value wasn't necessarily in the bricks and mortar. It was in the lease structure.

So, even before you evaluate the physical condition of a building, pull the rent roll and compare current rents to market rates. Then check lease expiration dates.

A well-maintained building with below-market rents and upcoming expirations might be your best value-add opportunity.