In the News—Week of August 25, 2025
Deal of the Week
Thomas Title & Escrow successfully closed a $13,650,000 commercial land transaction involving approximately 400 acres within a larger 2,040-acre master parcel, located northwest of W. Tonopah-Salome Highway and N. 339th Avenue in Tonopah, Arizona. The buyers, Buckeye Resources, LLC and RMB Land Company, LLC, acquired the property from a consortium of sellers led by Anita Verma of Arizona Land Consulting. This acquisition marks a significant investment in the Tonopah growth corridor, highlighting the area’s ongoing development momentum. The transaction required extensive coordination among multiple parties, including buyer and seller legal teams, Western Land Company as the listing broker, and Stewart Title Guaranty as underwriter. Escrow Officer Bryan Selna, with support from Georgette Khoury, Title Officer Teri Guevara, and Director of Commercial Services Kylie Cook, guided the process to a successful close. The deal underscores Thomas Title’s expertise in managing complex, high-value transactions and reinforces the team’s commitment to excellence in serving Arizona’s growing commercial real estate market.
National
Quantum computing likely to create demand for real estate similar to AI
Quantum computing is emerging as a significant commercial real estate opportunity, following a trajectory similar to AI’s impact on data centers, CNBC reports. Currently concentrated in academic and government facilities, quantum computing is rapidly advancing toward commercial viability, with forecasts suggesting $20 billion in investments by 2030 and $100 billion in revenue by 2035. A new report from JLL says significant real estate implications are on the horizon. “There’s going to be a defined point in time where we’ve reached commercialization of the technology, where there’s commercial utility, and at that point we see a significant ramp taking place to the scale of like what we saw with artificial intelligence,” says Andrew Batson, head of data center research at JLL. Major tech companies like Microsoft, IBM, Google and Amazon are making substantial investments in this technology, which requires specialized facilities different from traditional data centers. The development of quantum computing infrastructure is primarily occurring near research centers and universities in locations such as Chicago, Boston and parts of Colorado, with private real estate development beginning to accelerate in these regions.
National
Texas enjoys boom in retail construction while rest of country sees little activity
Texas is experiencing a retail construction boom, driven by significant population migration, with over 17 million square feet under construction in early 2025, Chain Store Age reports. This growth is concentrated in the state’s four largest cities: Dallas-Fort Worth (leading with 7.2 million square feet), Houston, Austin (which has the highest construction intensity), and San Antonio. The Texas retail boom stands in stark contrast to historically low national construction activity, where just 6 million square feet were delivered in Q2 2025. Texas accounts for nearly one-third of all newly built retail space listed for lease nationally since 2020.
National
Four classes of assets drive $13 billion worth of investment in NYC commercial property
New York City’s commercial real estate sector saw $13 billion in investment during the first half of 2025, with over half concentrated in four key asset classes, Forbes reports. Class A and trophy office buildings attracted $3.1 billion as high-credit tenants sought premium spaces. The free-market multifamily sector generated $4.4 billion in sales due to consistent rent growth and strategic recapitalizations. The affordable housing market remained strong as investors pursued public incentive opportunities, while retail properties worth $1.3 billion were acquired by both owner-users like Uniqlo and institutional investors seeking prime locations.
National
Texas ranks third in United States for foreign buyers purchasing real estate
Texas ranks third nationally for international real estate buyers, with approximately 7,500 foreign nationals purchasing properties, The Center Square reports. Figures from Texas REALTORS® show the properties international buyers acquired from April 2024 to March 2025 were valued at over $4.8 billion. The median home price purchased by international buyers in Texas was $420,800, exceeding the state median by $82,300, with buyers primarily coming from Mexico, Canada, China, India and Nigeria. These international transactions represented 2.3% of all Texas residential sales during this period, showing a 9% increase over the previous year. Starting Sept. 1, Texas will implement new restrictions on property purchases by entities connected to certain countries identified as security threats, including China, Iran, North Korea and Russia.
Arizona
Phoenix area ranks fifth among major markets for industrial leases
Greater Phoenix has secured the fifth position among major metropolitan markets for industrial leases in the first half of 2025, AZ Big Media reports. Figures from CBRE show the Valley accounted for four of the top 100 industrial leases nationwide, totaling 2.2 million square feet, with 24.4% of these transactions being renewals. Industry experts attribute Phoenix’s strong performance to its business-friendly environment, diverse labor force and strategic proximity to the Port of Long Beach. The report also reveals a broader national trend where third-party logistics providers are dominating the industrial leasing market, while e-commerce companies have significantly reduced their leasing activity.
Arizona
Sales prices for offices in Valley rise for the first time in more than three years
The Phoenix area office market is showing signs of recovery with its first increase in sales price per square foot in over three years, AZ Big Media reports. Figure from CommercialCafe’s Office Report show prices in the Valley rose from $165 to $197 per square foot between 2024 and 2025. Nationwide office vacancy rates averaged 19.4% in July, with western markets like Seattle and San Francisco experiencing even higher rates of 27% and 26% respectively. Despite these challenges, office sales have picked up year-over-year, with total sales reaching nearly $27 billion year-to-date by July, representing an $8.7 billion increase from the first half of 2024. The Bay Area, Washington, D.C., and Manhattan led in sales volume, each exceeding $3 billion in office properties traded since the beginning of 2025.
