The Dallas-Fort Worth area is again the top-ranked U.S. market in Emerging Trends in Real Estate, the annual outlook from the accounting firm PwC and the Urban Land Institute, whose 2027 edition was released Tuesday, Oct. 27.
The report places DFW at the top of its overall rankings for real estate prospects, ahead of Nashville, Miami, Raleigh-Durham and San Francisco, the next four markets it profiles. It credits the region's size, its diverse economy and its plans for large infrastructure.
Jobs driving offices
Much of the report's case rests on finance. It notes that the Texas Stock Exchange began trading in July 2026, and that in September a global financial services company picked Uptown Dallas over suburban Atlanta for a regional hub expected to employ 3,800 people by 2035. Another investment bank's campus with room for up to 5,000 workers is due in early 2028, the report says.
Office vacancy for top-quality space is still high at 24.8%, but the report says it has fallen 190 basis points since its peak in early 2025, and the market has absorbed space for seven straight quarters. Rents for the best buildings, particularly along the Dallas North Tollway, are about 30% above pre-pandemic levels.
Warehouses and power
Industrial construction has climbed from a low of 19.9 million square feet in early 2025 to 30.6 million square feet now under way, according to the report.
