ULI AND PWC RELEASE ANNUAL EMERGING TRENDS IN REAL ESTATE^® 2025; ANNOUNCE PHILADELPHIA SELECTED TO HOST 2027 ULI FALL MEETING

Nearly 400 real estate and land use leaders convened at the 25^th Annual ULI Philadelphia Real Estate Forecast: Leading Through Uncertainty

On November 19^th, ULI members and industry professionals met to explore the region’s outlook on investment, development trends, capital markets, property sectors, infrastructure investment and other real estate issues while examining how Philadelphia is positioned among national trends detailed in the Emerging Trends in Real Estate® 2025 report released by ULI and PwC this October.

The event also served as the public announcement that Philadelphia has been selected to host the 2027 ULI Fall Meeting, October 18-20, 2027, which will welcome over 5,000 real estate and land use leaders from around the world to Philadelphia.

During the forecast, leaders from multiple sectors discussed patterns in the region’s real estate market, discussing valuable lessons learned in leading through uncertain market dynamics. Additionally, local leaders explored how Philadelphia is positioned to see substantial investment opportunities leading up to the country’s 250^th anniversary in 2026 and beyond.

Jeremy Sunkett, Chair of ULI Philadelphia, opened the event by introducing a conversation moderated by Rija Beares, Greater Philadelphia Market Leader, CBRE and featured William Hankowsky, President, Wayne Avenue Enterprises and Jerry Sweeney, CEO, Brandywine Realty Trust. The conversation examined projections of stabilizing interest rates in comparison to previous years, along with the current state of office sales in 2025.

“You’re starting to see beginning signs of the debt markets recovering,” Sweeney said. “I think debt has been the gating issue for a lot of transactional buying, particularly in
office and some of the other sectors as well.” In addition to interest rates, the long-term transition to remote and hybrid work environments is playing a role in leasing trends across office markets, with high-quality buildings being almost fully occupied, with low-quality buildings underperforming.

Following the first fireside chat discussion, Bill Staffieri, Partner at PWC, presented key findings of the Emerging Trends in Real Estate ® 2025 report, discussing concerns around interest rates, availability of debt and the cost of capital. Many report participants talked about how the skies are finally clearing over commercial real estate markets, even if some dark clouds still linger. Industry practitioners are more sanguine than a year ago, though also realistic.

The Emerging Trends report highlighted, “We are on the cusp of the next upturn in the real estate cycle, and now is the time to be thinking about planning, laying the groundwork for the next two to three years of growth.”

Trends highlighted in the report include the following:

• Industry leaders are more confident than a year ago but remain cautious. Stability has returned to property markets, and investors are now addressing cyclical issues like oversupply and adapting to changing consumer and tenant preferences. One exception is the rise in demand for data centers which is soaring due to the widespread growth of artificial intelligence, while other niche property types are also seeing strong growth.
• Multifamily may see supply glut in high-growth areas. The multifamily market in 2025 will be shaped by the issue of supply, with a wave of apartment deliveries peaking in 2024 and concerns about a supply glut in high-growth Sunbelt markets. However, industry specialists anticipate that demand will remain strong due to job growth, favorable demographics and immigration.
• Higher insurance costs due to growing climate change risks are affecting CRE and housing markets. Climate risks are increasingly influencing homebuyers, investors, lenders, and others’ decisions alongside affordability and quality of life. In response, real estate firms are incorporating climate risk into their decision-making and risk assessments.
• Data centers dominate the real estate market. Fueled by surging demand from cloud storage, mobile data traffic, AI, and emerging technologies, data centers are seeing a continued increase in interest from tenants and investors. However, a supply-demand imbalance is expected to continue for at least the next five years, positioning data centers as a critical asset class in real estate.

The event concluded with a final panel discussion with key experts leading efforts to prepare Philadelphia as the heart of the United States’ 250^th anniversary celebration in 2026. The conversation was moderated by Michael Newmuis, 2026 Director, City of Philadelphia and featured John Grady, Senior Vice President, Northeast Region Executive, Wexford Science and Technology; Ariella Maron, Executive Director, Delaware Regional Planning Commission; Aaron Pitts, Chief Commercial Officer, PA Department of Community & Economic Development; and Angela Val, President & CEO, Visit Philadelphia.

“One thing I love about Philadelphia is that we are really great when we are working towards something. We pull together and we make that happen. Philly is known for doing great events, really well.” Val said. “That definitely impacts civic pride in this place that we call home. We will be able to host all of you in the room, to guests all around the world. This is the place we have one shot to say, you could build a business here, bring a business here, come back to visit or decide to live here. This is something we can do together.”

The conversation highlighted how the city and region is positioned to grow, underscoring the importance of intentionality around how we use the revenue from events in 2026 including the World Cup. “The question is what we will be doing that [revenue]. We have a lot of challenges,” Marion noted. “Are we building more affordable homes? Are we helping out public transportation, not just SEPTA’s needs right now but expanding that into other parts of the region to get people back and forth? That is why we do these big events. The next part is how we are going to use this. It is starting point, not an end point.”