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Cash buyers dominate 1 in 3 home sales link

• 32.8% of sales were all-cash in H1 2025 (−0.6 pp YoY), still above the 2015–19 baseline of 28.6%; the count of cash deals fell to ~1.4M in 2024 from ~2.0M in 2021, showing fewer transactions even as cash stays dominant.

• Cash clusters at the extremes: ~⅔ of sub-$100K sales were cash; >40% of $1M+ and most $2M+ closed in cash, a U-shape driven by investor/credit constraints at the low end and wealth at the high end.

• Geography split: states led by Mississippi (49.6%) and New Mexico (48.8%); metros led by Miami (43.0%) and San Antonio (39.6%, +7.7 pp YoY), while Seattle (17.9%) and San Jose (20.6%) sit at the bottom.

Cold storage vacancy hits 20-year high link

• Vacancy is at a 20-year high with the widest supply-demand gap expected in 2025; Newmark says oversupply lingers into 2026 as a historically large pipeline delivers (7.4M sf, ~10% of inventory built in the last 5 years). Rental rates are already up >100% since 2020, creating a tougher backdrop for lease-up.

• Quality split is sharp: much of today’s vacant space averages 42 years old, facing costly retrofit/food-safety upgrades while users migrate to modern facilities. Expect some firm contraction after 2021-23 new-company formation ran 6.3% annually vs 3.3% in 2017-19.

• Sector is <2% of U.S. industrial, but near-term demand is choppy even as e-grocery rose ~28% YoY in Q2’25; retailers are leaning on 3PLs and strategically placed fulfillment to stretch footprints. Translation: demand is selective and location/format-driven.

Rents fall for first time since 2009 as apartment demand stalls link

• U.S. apartment demand cooled sharply in Q3 2025, with only 637,000 units absorbed, down from a record 784,900 the previous quarter, signaling the end of a two-year growth streak. Occupancy slipped to 95.4%, breaking five quarters of gains.

• Effective asking rents fell 0.3% between July and September, the first Q3 decline since 2009. Nearly 1 in 5 apartments offered concessions, averaging 6.2% off, as operators scrambled to fill units.

• Rent cuts hit hardest in Austin (-8%), Denver (-8%), and Phoenix (-5%), while the Midwest and Northeast managed modest gains thanks to limited new supply.

My take: We’re watching the post-boom hangover unfold, oversupply in Sun Belt metros is colliding with a cooler job market. For investors, this may be the best window in years to buy stabilized assets in overbuilt markets before rents rebound.

Will AI Disrupt Life Science Real Estate? link

• AI-native biotech firms now account for one-third of all biotech VC deals and are leasing roughly 33% less space per employee than traditional biopharma, according to JLL’s 2025 report. That shift is creating a structural drop in lab demand.

• The U.S. now has 61 million square feet of lab space available, triple the 2021 level, while overall demand has fallen by more than half, leading JLL to call biotech leasing “glacial.”

• Even under optimistic scenarios, it could take 3–7 years for supply-demand equilibrium to return unless 30 million square feet gets leased or repurposed through distress or adaptive reuse.

Boston rents fall 1% as Midwest softens, early signs of a multifamily cooldown link

• Yardi Matrix data shows rents dropped in 16 of the top 30 metros in September, marking the first broad downturn after months of stability. Boston rents fell 1%, despite having one of the lowest new-construction pipelines among major markets.

• The Midwest reversal stands out: Detroit rents dipped 0.4% overall and a sharp 2.2% in lifestyle units, while Chicago and Columbus both saw 0.5% declines. These cities had been consistent rent-growth leaders earlier in 2025.

• Analysts warn that this softening isn’t just about oversupply, even slow-growth markets are cutting rents, suggesting demand fatigue and demographic shifts could be pressuring pricing beyond typical seasonality.

My Take -

In my opinion, when both Boston and Detroit start to decline at the same time, it's not just a temporary change; it means the market is losing its ability to keep prices high. Investors who expect rents to keep rising until 2026 should consider testing their plans for situations where rents stay the same or even decrease.

Tool of the day: Domos

Domos transforms property management by leveraging AI to streamline operations, enhance resident support, and boost overall efficiency.

Lessen Unveils “Aiden,” AI That Automates the Entire Maintenance Cycle link

The new platform embeds AI across every step of property maintenance, from intake to invoicing, cutting admin drag by 85%, boosting quote approvals 20%, and redefining facilities management for residential and commercial portfolios.

Baselane Raises $34M to Bring AI to Every Landlord Ledger link

The proptech firm’s new “Baselane Smart” suite automates rent collection, bookkeeping, and financial insights for 50,000+ investors, streamlining operations as small landlords become the next wave of tech adopters.

The $400B AI Spending Spree Could Shake Real Estate If It Pops link

Economists warn the AI boom, now 17× larger than the dot-com bubble, has fueled CRE data-center demand and market optimism, but a pullback could stall projects, hit valuations, and erase 30% of expected S&P 500 revenue growth.

Half of Agents Still Avoid AI, Despite New Title Tech Wins link

HousingWire’s latest Tech Pulse shows 46% of agents don’t use AI at work even as fraud-prevention tools like EquityProtect and Closinglock’s new AML platform prove how automation is already reshaping real estate compliance.

Why Industrial Landlords Are Rushing to Retrofit for the EV Wave

Why the lending playbook has suddenly stopped working

Latest CRE Trends. One Asset Type is an outlier.

Proptech Startups That Just Got Funded

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Vidit

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