Gene Laramee, President of ACM, agrees with the recently released Kidder Mathews 2026 Western U.S. Market Forecast, covered by AZ Big Media, noting the report reflects what ACM is seeing across its markets. The forecast covers office, industrial, retail, and multifamily sectors, and takes a clear-eyed look at where things stand: a market working through its reset, with pockets of real opportunity for those paying attention.
Economy Overview
The U.S. economy enters 2026 on a solid footing, supported by steady growth, moderating inflation, and resilient consumer fundamentals. While job growth is slowing, strong investment in artificial intelligence and improving productivity are expected to sustain economic expansion and reinforce stability in the year ahead.
Office
The office market is showing signs of gradual but uneven recovery, with leasing activity strengthening in select markets. Vacancy and sublease availability are beginning to trend downward, while limited new construction supports improving fundamentals as the sector moves toward greater balance in 2026. The recovery is real, but it won’t be uniform — patience and selectivity matter.
Industrial
The industrial market is moving from a period of cooling toward greater balance. Steady leasing activity, stabilizing demand from logistics, e-commerce, and data center users, and a shrinking development pipeline position the sector for tightening fundamentals and sustained performance heading into 2026.
Retail
Retail fundamentals remain solid heading into 2026, supported by limited new supply, low vacancy, and continued demand from essential and value-oriented retailers. Suburban centers are outperforming urban cores, foot traffic is steadily recovering, and stable occupancy is expected to support measured rent growth across most retail formats.
Multifamily
Multifamily enters 2026 on a path toward greater stability as vacancy stabilizes, new supply declines, and affordability challenges continue to support renter demand. Improving capital markets activity and strong renewal rates are expected to help sustain occupancy and drive steady rent growth as a Forecast fundamental rebalance.
The Bottom Line
Kidder Mathews’ forecast — as covered by AZ Big Media — reflects a market past the turbulence of the last few years but not yet in full growth mode. That gap is where opportunity lives for those willing to look at the numbers and move with conviction.
Source: Kidder Mathews, 2026 Western U.S. Market Forecast, as reported by AZ Big Media.
