Data-backed research can be useful when deciding where and what to develop, as well as how to raise funds to move projects forward. But according to Agora, “what investors say and what the market does are not always the same.”
To underline this point, Agora’s just-released “CRE in 2025: A Data-Driven Check on Industry Sentiment” compared survey responses from 200 U.S. commercial real estate professionals with Agora’s Q1 and Q2 2025 data.
Here’s what the survey found:
Southeast regional focus. The sentiment report noted that 28% of those surveyed would focus on the Southeast for investment. Meanwhile, the Agora data said that the region captured 42.7% and 66.2% of projects in Q1 and Q2, respectively. The Southwest ranked second by project share, while the Northeast experienced the second-highest capital flows.
Multifamily remains on top. According to the report, 51% of respondents selected multifamily as their top asset class. The data showed that multifamily represented 30% of projects in Q1 and Q2, while capturing 67.6% in the first quarter. Mixed-use came in high at 33% in the survey but captured only 0.7% of projects in both quarters, according to Agora data.
Southwest capital share increases. When queried, participants in the Southwest region were optimistic about raising capital; 28% reported less difficulty and better conditions for doing so. On the data front, Agora reported the Southwest region’s capital increasing by 10.6% from 2024 to 2025. While 59% in the Northeast reported more difficulty in raising capital, the region’s capital fundraising portion increased by 3.7% year over year.
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