The commercial real estate market is remarkably stable despite shifting occupier behavior, geopolitical instability, rate volatility and other disruptions because of a “deep structural demand” that organizations have for “real assets,” Cushman & Wakefield CEO Michelle MacKay said Wednesday.
“This market has been tested under every disruption you can name — rate volatility, shifting occupier behavior, geopolitical uncertainty [and] new technology,” MacKay said on the company’s second-quarter 2026 earnings call August 5. “Each time it did what healthy markets do: absorb the shock, reprice and move forward.”
The stability stems from deep structural demand from a diverse capital base seeking “real assets” across the built environment, whether its subway systems, stadiums, EV charging stations, airports, hospitals, housing, logistics centers or government buildings, she said.
“We’re no longer talking about the traditional definition of commercial real estate, and we haven’t been for quite some time,” she said. “We’re talking about the built world, whether it’s called commercial real estate, infrastructure or energy. The breadth of the real asset ecosystem is enormous and … increasingly strategic, requiring thoughtful advice and careful management. We’re convinced this market will keep growing through change.”
Project management underpins strong quarter for services
The company generated $2.8 billion in revenue in the second quarter, up 11% year over year on the strength of its facilities management, project management and leasing businesses.
“[The project management business is] underpinning the strength of our service business,” Cushman & Wakefield CFO Neil Johnstone said on the call. “We’ve built significant capabilities in that area, and that’s an area we put in place new management 18 months ago.”
The company’s Americas revenue grew 10% year over year to just shy of $2 billion, with more than 60% of that coming from services. Services revenue in the region grew 5% to $1.27 billion as a result of new business and expansion in existing facilities management mandates and increased project management, according to the company’s earnings presentation.
The company’s facilities management and property management businesses are also performing well globally, Johnstone said.
Leasing revenue in the Americas grew 35% to $524 million as demand for high-quality assets remained strong. The company saw double-digit growth across all deal sizes and strength in nearly every major market, he said.
“Office leasing remains strong, reflecting continued demand from occupiers for high-quality space. We saw particular strength in the legal, accounting, insurance and tech sectors in key gateway markets,” he said.
Industrial was also a standout performer, benefiting from robust activity across transaction sizes and continued momentum in data center-related assignments, he said. Chicago, New Jersey and the West Coast were the company’s strongest-performing regions in the industrial market.
Data center work: much more than transactions
Although the company’s transactional data center business has been strong and growing, the company sees the most promise in its ability to participate across the life cycle of these assets, MacKay said.
Data center work now comprises a quarter of the company’s integrated facilities management pipeline for all real estate sectors, she said.
Going forward, the company’s focus is on moving up the data center value chain by providing more higher-margin technical work. “We’ve invested organically in expanding our sales and delivery capabilities, brought on new leadership and expect it to be a larger driver of our growth moving forward,” she said. “But … the idea of either buying or bringing in some expertise in an inorganic fashion is also on the table.”
The company will benefit by having more cash at its disposal to invest in and advance those areas of project management and data center work, she said.
