The 12 Stories Readers Loved Best In 2025
CRE was all about the pain this year, apparently.
Bisnow’s list of most-clicked stories in 2025 is filled with bankruptcies, layoffs, frozen capital and a frozen government.
Want to feel really good at the prospect of a better 2026? Take a trip down memory lane with us.
12) Why LP Equity Partners Are Hiding From The CRE Capital Stack
Sasha Jones, Oct. 1
Limited partners are increasingly steering clear of higher-risk positions, favoring safer bets amid valuation uncertainty and tightening liquidity. Sponsors are feeling the squeeze, often forced to contribute more equity or restructure deals to keep projects moving. This is one of the many ways financing was a real bear this year.
11) Uniqlo Opening 11 More U.S. Stores
Emily Wishingrad, Oct. 8
Japanese fast-fashion giant Uniqlo is accelerating its U.S. growth plans with 11 new store openings — four in New York, two in Chicago and the rest in Boston, Seattle, D.C., San Francisco and Maryland. Its goal is to have 200 U.S. locations by 2027. People love the store, and y'all loved this story.
10) Welcome To The Longest Government Shutdown In History. CRE Is On Edge
Bianca Barragán, Mark F. Bonner, Chloe Gallivan and Emily Wishingrad, Nov. 4
The federal shutdown ultimately ended after a record 43 days, but it delayed approvals and loans, halted travel and held up rent payments. Even more lasting, the shutdown eroded global investors' faith in U.S. predictability and safety. It’s over now, but its ghost lives on.
9) 9 Things For Commercial Real Estate To Watch In Trump's First 100 Days
Matt Wasielewski, Jan. 17
It was clear from the outset that Donald Trump would bring sweeping changes to CRE. And for all the volatility of his first year, he did broadly follow the template we laid out here with tariffs, tax reform, a new housing finance landscape and an emphasis on infrastructure spending. The details and the impact, however, didn’t always go as expected.
8) Office REIT Misses $30M In Interest Bills, Will Be Delisted From Nasdaq
7) Office REIT With 17M SF Portfolio Files For Bankruptcy
Matt Wasielewski, Oct. 1 and Ciara Long, Oct. 31
Our eighth- and seventh-most read stories were on the same topic: the demise of Office Properties Income Trust. On Sept. 30, it missed $30M in interest payments and was delisted from Nasdaq. Within 30 days, the office REIT had declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Read story one here and story two here.
6) Elon Musk's xAI Acquires Power Plant Site Near AI Data Centers For $10
Dan Rabb, July 21
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company bought the 114-acre site of a natural gas power plant in Mississippi for just $10. The plant is 6 miles away from a 1M SF data center xAI is building in Memphis, but the company hasn’t said what it’s doing with the tract.
5) South Florida Developer, Company Backed By Trump Jr. Partner For $1B Real Estate Fund
Matt Wasielewski, Sept. 3
South Florida stories hit it big this year among Bisnow readers. 1789 Capital, which Donald Trump Jr. is part of, partnered with developer Frisbie Group to launch a fund to build and buy property in Palm Beach and Boca Raton. The joint venture reportedly had $1B in investor interest and had already chosen initial investments.
4) Lennar, Easton Group Reveal Plan For $2B '15-Minute City' On 1,000 Acres Of Farmland
Chloe Gallivan, Oct. 8
And we're back in South Florida with news the Easton Group, Lennar and MPKA LLC proposed a $2B, 990-acre mixed-use development in West Kendall. The plans are for a dense, walkable city with 8,000 residential units, 14M SF of retail, 500K SF of office and 526K SF of industrial space heavily focused on the aerospace industry.
3) Bankruptcy Judge Turns Houston Real Estate CEO Over To Custody Of U.S. Marshals
Maddy McCarty, April 21
Houston real estate investor Ali Choudhri spent a few days in jail this spring after repeatedly failing to provide documentation to a bankruptcy judge about the finances of his firm, Jetall Cos. The Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings followed a series of foreclosures involving his Houston office portfolio. Choudhri was separately threatened with arrest the same month for not complying with Department of Justice subpoenas as it investigates him for financial crimes.
2) HUD Reportedly Fires All Of Its Building Inspectors
Ciara Long, Oct. 17
The Trump administration cut hundreds of Department of Housing and Urban Development staffers during the government shutdown, including the entire team that oversaw required inspections of buildings that receive federal funding.
1) JLL To Cut Nearly 400 Jobs After Losing Amazon Contract
Matt Wasielewski, April 18
All in all, 2025 was a good year for brokerages. But Bisnow’s top story was about a brokerage in a bad spot: JLL laid off 384 employees in California and Florida after Amazon brought some services in-house and terminated its contract with the brokerage.
