“With surging corporate profits spurring continued job growth, we're seeing healthy demand for nearly all types of commercial property,” said Elizabeth Norton, managing research director, Mid-Atlantic region. “Strong fundamentals point to attractive returns from real estate investments compared to stocks and bonds, as well as ongoing demand for both debt and equity.”

Most notably, the US industrial market remains red-hot with record-high port volumes continuing to drive coastal markets as tariffs loom, positive absorption and a vacancy rate that remained below 5% in the third quarter, despite the addition of new inventory. Prelease commitments in the sector are offsetting a large percentage of the 376 million square feet of new construction.

While not as stellar as the industrial sector, the office market is enjoying stable vacancy and modest asking rent appreciation nationally. October's 3.7% jobless rate signaled full employment by historical standards, but Transwestern expects recent retirees and others not counted as unemployed to re-enter the workforce in the coming year. Still, with dim prospects for increased immigration, a labor shortage could begin challenging economic growth by early 2020.

The Houston market is also mirroring national trends in many respects, says Stuart Showers, director of research for the Houston Transwestern office.

“Houston's industrial sector remains in tight alignment with national trends, as direct vacancy of 5%, compared to the national rate of 4.9%, remains below frictional vacancy levels, resulting in continued demand for new supply,” Showers tells GlobeSt.com. “As such, several speculative developments are underway to capture the unmet demand.”