Thursday, May 21, 2026
On Tap Today
Grid and bear it: Texas is becoming the data center boom’s new power center.
Builder bailout: The House strips a provision that froze investment in built-to-rent single-family construction.
Listing lockout: A Chicago MLS cut off Zillow over a dispute with Compass on private listings.
Multifamily outlook webinar: Explore the key data and trends shaping multifamily rents, investment, and housing markets in 2026. Sign up
| A blockbuster day. Trump told reporters the U.S. is in the "final stages" of negotiations with Iran, sending oil down 5.7% to $98 and pulling Treasury yields sharply lower. The S&P surged 1.08% to 7,432.97 and the Dow reclaimed 50,000. Then after the bell, Nvidia beat on revenue ($81.6B vs. $79.2B expected) and issued strong Q2 guidance. SpaceX also filed its S-1 for an IPO. Delta jumped 9.4% as lower fuel costs repriced airline economics in real time. For CRE, the combination of an Iran deal approaching, oil back below $100, and the 10-year pulling back from its 4.67% high is the most constructive single-session shift in weeks. If the deal closes and oil stabilizes in the $90s, the energy-driven inflation premium starts unwinding and the rate-cut conversation could reopen for late 2026. Kevin Warsh is expected to be sworn in as Fed chair this week, and his first public comments on monetary policy will set the tone for whether the new regime leans into the improving inflation picture or holds the hawkish line. |
Industrial
For years, the data center industry chased fiber routes and network density. Now it is chasing something far more basic: electricity. Cushman & Wakefield’s latest global rankings place Dallas as the top primary data center market in the world, while Austin-San Antonio and West Texas lead secondary and tertiary markets. Together, the results suggest that Texas has become the center of gravity for the next wave of AI infrastructure.
The scale of development is staggering. Global capacity under construction has surged to 31.7 gigawatts, with the Americas accounting for roughly 80 percent of projects worldwide. West Texas alone now has more capacity under construction than the entire EMEA region combined, fueled by hyperscalers racing to secure power before constraints tighten further. In this environment, access to electricity, transmission infrastructure, and local political support matter more than proximity to traditional internet hubs.
That rush is also exposing the industry’s biggest fault lines. Utilities are struggling with multi-year delivery timelines, water concerns are mounting in arid regions, and speculative land plays are inflating pipeline numbers across the country. According to Cushman & Wakefield’s John McWilliams, the real indicator of market strength is no longer headline gigawatts but how much planned capacity is already pre-committed to actual tenants. The next phase of the data center boom may be defined less by ambition than by which markets can realistically deliver power, approvals, and infrastructure fast enough to keep pace with AI demand.
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House Strips Build-To-Rent Sell-Off Mandate From Housing Bill
MLS Data Cutoff Leaves Zillow Users Without Chicago Listings
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