Market Insights

 Market Insight: Southern Wisconsin’s 2025 Tug-of-War Evolving, Not Stalling. While national headlines paint a broad (and often bleak) stroke across commercial real estate, the Janesville–Beloit MSA is quietly proving that market fundamentals still win the long game. From the high-stakes "megawatt" conversation surrounding the former GM site to the visible rebalancing of our retail corridors, 2025 was a year of strategic shifts rather than simple stagnation.

Southern Wisconsin commercial real estate isn’t moving in one direction — and that’s exactly why this market matters. While national headlines tend to generalize, the reality in the Janesville–Beloit MSA is far more mixed. Like many Midwest tertiary markets, fundamentals are driving decisions. Some sectors stayed steady, others reshuffled, and a few quietly surprised.

The long-time owners of the multi-tenant commercial building at 1323 Excalibur Drive in Janesville were ready to begin their retirement. They had successfully managed and leased the building, but they now needed a reliable exit strategy that ensured maximum value and a smooth, swift closing process. Finding the right buyer for a multi-unit investment asset required specialized expertise.

As we move through the final quarter of 2025, the commercial real estate (CRE) market is showing signs of renewed strength and resilience. In a recent episode of the CRE with CBC Worldwide Podcast, Lonnie Hendry, Chief Product Officer at Trepp and host of The TreppWire Podcast, joined host, Dan Spiegel, SIOR, senior vice president and managing director of Coldwell Banker Commercial, to unpack the current state of the market and share insights on what lies ahead.

Commercial real estate comprises many different categories: offi ce, industrial, retail, multifamily and more, all serving different needs and aspects of everyday life. What they all have in common is land underneath the buildings. Often neglected as an investment in CRE, land — be raw land, vacant land or a vacant lot — poses one of the greatest wealth-building opportunities today.

Around here, when another big warehouse goes up, you can almost hear the collective sigh — “great, more low-paying jobs.” I get it. From the outside, these massive distribution centers can look like a sea of semis and concrete, not exactly the picture of innovation.

For decades, economic development was synonymous with job creation. Cities built entire incentive packages around attracting employers — land deals, TIFs, tax breaks — with the idea that jobs would lead to growth.

Pacific Retail Capital Partners’ acquisition of Lakewood Center in Southern California made headlines. Their plan: transform a 2-million-sq.-ft. shopping center into a walkable district blending retail, residential, entertainment, wellness, and green space. We’ve all heard this pitch before—blah blah blah, the “next generation mixed-use destination.” But here’s the real question: how do we take a glossy concept like this and make it work right here in Janesville?

Lee Enterprises, a prominent American media company, needed to downsize their office space for the Lake Geneva Regional News. The goal was to sell their existing 4,150 square foot office and find a smaller, more efficient space for their employees, all while maintaining a strong market presence.

The latest Rock Ready Index report is in for Q2 2025, and the numbers tell a compelling story for Rock County! From a new 238,000 SF industrial development to steady residential market activity and low unemployment rates, the economic momentum in our community is strong.