ULI and PwC Report: Dallas-Fort Worth Named Top Market to Watch for Third Straight Year
PwC and the Urban Land Institute (ULI) released Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2027, the 48th edition of their annual industry outlook, on October 27, 2026. According to ULI, the report draws on insights from nearly 1,500 real estate investors, developers, lenders and advisors across the U.S. and Canada. It identifies eight trends expected to shape real estate in 2027 and names Dallas-Fort Worth the number one market to watch for the third straight year.
The report’s theme is “You Have to Work for It.” PwC’s Andrew Alperstein, National Real Estate Leader in its Financial Markets & Real Estate practice, said sentiment in the publication declined this year. He said capital is available, debt markets are functioning and repricing could create attractive entry points, while higher borrowing costs and greater variation across sectors and submarkets are raising the bar for execution. In his view, success in 2027 will depend less on broad sector bets and more on choosing the right asset, market and operating strategy.
ULI Global CEO Angela Cain said the report pairs industry insight with market-level intelligence to help leaders test assumptions and identify resilient opportunities. The organizations say the eight trends reflect an industry adjusting to economic pressures, demographic change, policy shifts, technology and new development models that are reshaping how real estate is financed, built, operated and valued.
Why it matters
The report gives investors, developers and agents a survey-based view of market sentiment and highlighted markets. The findings are the opinions of the survey respondents and the report’s authors, not forecasts guaranteed by ULI or PwC.
Source: ULI, October 30, 2026. Read the original release
