AI data centers are overtaking office construction as the new CRE powerhouse. Data center construction was just 20% the size of office building investment three years ago, but now it's hitting $28 billion annually with 35% yearly growth. Tech giants are fueling this surge—Microsoft alone is spending over $30 billion in one quarter, while Google bumped its 2025 infrastructure budget to $85 billion. The shift is creating massive opportunities for commercial real estate players, with data center REITs like Digital Realty Trust and Equinix seeing strong investor interest as this AI infrastructure boom reshapes what counts as premium commercial property. For CRE pros, this represents a fundamental market evolution where tech infrastructure is becoming the new trophy asset class.

Multifamily developers finally caught a break in July's housing data. Overall starts (actual construction beginning) jumped 12.9% year-over-year to 1.428 million—the highest since February—with buildings of five-plus units leading the charge at 470,000 starts, up from 421,000 in June. However, the future pipeline looks cloudier: multifamily permits (approval to build) dropped 9.9% month-over-month, while single-family permits remain stuck near March 2023 lows. As T2 Capital's Jeff Brown puts it, conditions are "cloudy with a chance of sunshine." The mixed signals suggest institutional capital is still finding opportunity in current rental housing projects despite broader market uncertainty about what's ahead.

Fed Chair Powell hints at rate cuts amid policy uncertainty. Jerome Powell signaled potential interest rate reductions at the Fed's Jackson Hole retreat, citing "shifting balance of risks" from Washington's trade, immigration, and tax policy changes. While the Fed has paused rate adjustments through five straight meetings in 2025, Powell noted the central bank's benchmark rate is now 100 basis points lower than last year, giving room to "proceed carefully." The comments come as Trump pressures for cuts and threatens to fire Powell before his May 2026 term expires. For CRE pros, any rate relief could ease pressure on floating-rate loans that have faced distress since the Fed's aggressive 2022-2023 hiking cycle. The FOMC's next decision comes September 27.

Singapore powerhouse Mapletree Investments keeps doubling down on Chicago logistics, adding development sites in Joliet and Bartlett to its 10 million-square-foot Midwest empire. The firm just scooped up 18 acres on Vetter Road for a 276,000-square-foot facility and broke ground on a 149,100-square-foot warehouse in Bartlett, targeting the I-80/I-55 interchange and North DuPage submarkets where Class A supply remains tight. With their two U.S. logistics funds holding over 10 million square feet combined and eyes on O’Hare infill opportunities, Mapletree's aggressive Chicago push signals that foreign capital still sees Midwest industrial as a safe bet despite broader market uncertainty.

Most operators are out here trying to do everything themselves. 

They want to keep 100% of a $20K deal instead of taking 50% of an $80K deal.

That's poverty thinking.

As I discussed with Dan Breslin on the podcast, this mindset keeps operators small and limits their potential for real scale.

When interests align, meaning everyone eats based on the value they bring, magic happens. 

Your partner sees opportunities you're blind to. They have relationships you don't. They'll push where you'd settle.

I've watched this play out hundreds of times now.

A partner who knows construction turns your $30K flip profit into $90K by seeing renovation opportunities you missed.

A partner with capital relationships gets you better terms, letting you take down deals you'd normally wholesale.

A partner with operational expertise cuts your holding costs in half, doubling your margins.

It’s like magic when it works, but partnerships like this only succeed when the interests truly align.

You see, people get greedy. 

They negotiate percentages based on ego instead of value. They bring their third cousin who "wants to learn the business."

Or worse, they try to document everything with some attorney who doesn't understand real estate, thinking paperwork creates alignment.

It doesn't.

Real alignment comes from brutal honesty about what each person brings. 

It comes from having hard conversations early. It comes from being willing to walk away if the split doesn't match the value.

So, here's what you do tomorrow:

Look at your last three deals. Could a strategic partner have doubled or tripled your profit? Be honest.

Then identify one person in your network who consistently sees angles you miss. Someone who brings real value, not your drinking buddy who wants in.

Have the alignment conversation. Not about percentages yet. 

About values. About what each of you brings. About what success looks like.

Start with one small deal together. Test the partnership with $20K at risk, not $200K.

The right partnership will transform how you see every opportunity.

Stop trying to eat the whole pie yourself. Half of a bigger pie tastes a lot better.