Dallas-Fort Worth scored a three-peat in PwC and the Urban Land Institute’s annual ranking of the top commercial real estate markets to watch in the U.S.

For the third consecutive year, DFW topped the list of real estate markets to watch. PwC and ULI included the list in their highly regarded Emerging Trends in Real Estate report, which was released Tuesday.

Behind DFW among the markets to watch in 2027 were, in descending order:

• Nashville, Tennessee
• Miami
• Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina
• San Francisco

Elsewhere in Texas, Houston ranked sixth, down one spot from the previous year; Austin ranked 21st, up nine spots; and San Antonio ranked 34th, down 15 spots.

“To be named the top market to watch for the third consecutive year reflects the dynamic nature of the DFW region and our continued ability to attract diversified investment that spurs growth,” Tamela Thornton, executive director of ULI Dallas-Fort Worth, said in a statement.

PwC and ULI based their findings on insights from nearly 1,500 real estate investors, developers, lenders and advisers in the U.S. and Canada.

“In 2027, success will be less about making a broad sector bet and more about choosing the right asset, in the right market, with the right operating strategy,” Andrew Alperstein, national real estate leader in PwC’s financial markets and real estate practice, said in a statement.

The Y’all Street effect

In a commentary featured in the report, commercial real estate company Cushman & Wakefield highlighted the rise of Dallas’ Y’all Street financial services corridor as a positive development.

In particular, Cushman & Wakefield noted the recent arrival of the Texas Stock Exchange, NYSE Texas and Nasdaq Texas.

The company also cited recent decisions by financial services giants Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to set up major hubs in Dallas. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley plan to collectively spend more than $1.3 billion to open offices there. The report said the two projects will require premium office space and amenities.

Booming office market

The Y’all Street boom is helping fuel DFW’s office sector, the report said.

The region’s Class A office vacancy rate sits near 25% but has fallen 190 basis points since it peaked in the first quarter of 2025. The DFW office market “started compressing sooner and faster” than the rest of the country, the report said.

Alongside that compression, net absorption of DFW office space has been positive for seven quarters in a row, totaling 3.8 million square feet, the report said.

Asking rents for Class A office space in the region sit nearly 25% above pre-pandemic levels, the report said, while top-tier rents are 30% higher. Construction remains limited, but the office pipeline has grown each quarter since the third quarter of last year.

Gains in industrial sector

The industrial sector is also reaping benefits from DFW’s economic growth.

In North Texas, the industrial sector now has 30.6 million square feet of construction underway, up from 19.9 million square feet in the first quarter of 2025.

“Overbuilt periphery submarkets are clearing, which reopens the door for new development,” the report said.

DFW’s vacancy rate for industrial properties fell 250 basis points from its post-pandemic peak, landing at 7.3%, the report said. Helping drive that decline: 2026 leasing of big-box properties, measuring at least 500,000 square feet, hit 23.9 million square feet through September. That eclipsed the 2023 record of 18.3 million square feet.

Data centers, airport projects and more

Other factors contributing to DFW’s place atop the markets-to-watch list include:

• The region’s first-ever ranking by Cushman & Wakefield as the world’s top primary market for data centers.
• Dallas Fort Worth International Airport’s Terminal C and Terminal F projects, which represent a $7 billion investment.
• A $2.5 billion expansion of Dallas Love Field that’s set to start in 2027.
• The $3.8 billion overhaul of Dallas’ Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center.
• The Dallas Mavericks’ planned multibillion-dollar arena and mixed-use district at the site of Dallas’ former Valley View Mall.
• The planned $3 billion Dallas Stars-anchored arena and mixed-use district at the site of the former Shops at Willow Bend Plano.

Homebuilding prospects

The report focused primarily on prospects in the overall real estate market for 2027, but it also ranked metros for homebuilding prospects. DFW claimed the No. 2 ranking, preceded by Houston. San Antonio came in at No. 18, and Austin landed at No. 27.