2026 Outlook/Emerging Trends

Dr. Michael Toma and his team at Georgia Southern provided the Savannah business community with economic data and forecasting at the Savannah Chamber of Commerce’s Economic Outlook Luncheon on January 7th. The main message: expect growth in the Savannah area to be marginal this year. Employment is expected to increase 0.5% - 1%, with primary gains in manufacturing, logistics, and health services employment. Due to our multi-pronged economy, the Savannah area will likely outperform both state and national economies this year, however, stagnant wages and uncertainty around national policies will continue to create challenges.

The following week, Clara attended ULI’s Emerging Trends in Real Estate (ETRE) event at Ponce City Market in Atlanta with keynote speaker Chuck DiRocco of PwC. Drawing on insights from more than 1,700 leading real estate investors, developers, lenders, and advisors across the US and Canada, this year’s ETRE provided several key takeaways:

• Uncertainty regarding tariffs, immigration, and interest-rates continue to create a fog over the path forward.

• There are still high-potential property sectors for growth, innovation, and resilience.

• Top 10 Markets to Watch in 2026

• Dallas-Fort Worth

• Jersey City

• Miami

• Brooklyn

• Houston

• Nashville

• Northern New Jersey

• Tampa-St. Petersburg

• Manhattan

• Phoenix

Following the keynote was a panel of local leaders from finance, development, and government speaking more on the Atlanta market and Georgia as a whole. The conversation kept coming back to AI in real estate which everyone agrees is here to stay. Beyond data centers being the hot asset class, the ways in which AI already has changed and will further change and influence the commercial real estate industry moving forward is a trend we will be keeping close watch on.