Construction + Economy

By Dan Hollenkamp, COO at Toggled Dan Hollenkamp, COO of Toggled, shared the following seven trends that he believes will redefine buildings and energy management in 2026: 1) Smart Buildings Become True Energy Orchestrators: By 2026, smart buildings will function more like managed micro-grids as operators face rising energy demand, electrification pressures, and aging infrastructure. Even [...]

  Realtor.com’s new 2025 Home Trends Report found that efficiency, sustainability and nature-inspired design are on the rise, while more opulent or space-heavy features are losing ground—highlighting a shift in how Americans define comfort and value. Sustainability and Efficiency There is a pronounced shift toward sustainable, eco-friendly home design in 2025, driven largely by increasing awareness [...]

  The September 2025 Dodge Construction Network data show a continued rebound in total construction starts, with a 3.1% month-over-month increase to a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of about $1.26 trillion. The upturn is driven primarily by a sharp rise in nonresidential starts, which climbed 11.9% for the month, while residential starts rose 3.6%. [...]

  Apartment conversion projects surged across the U.S. in 2024, characterized by both the volume and pace of adaptive reuse—where underperforming properties are redeveloped into multifamily residential units. According to a new RentCafe report, nearly 25,000 apartments were completed through adaptive reuse in 2024, representing a 50% increase compared to 2023 and double 2022’s output. [...]

  The 2025 Q3 Pulse of the Lighting Market report is produced by Channel Marketing Group with William Blair. The Q3 2025 report finds that the U.S. lighting industry faced a challenging, largely stagnant quarter, with most companies experiencing low or no growth, even after factoring in price increases driven by new tariffs. Increased prices [...]

  On Friday, the United States and China reignited their trade war in dramatic fashion, raising significant concerns about near-term economic volatility and long-term global implications. After months of relative calm, President Donald Trump announced the imposition of sweeping 100% tariffs on all Chinese imports, effective November 1, in retaliation for China’s newly tightened export [...]

  Data centers have rapidly reshaped the landscape of U.S. office construction, now representing a major share of spending and signaling a long-term shift in commercial real estate investment priorities. As of 2024, data centers accounted for 32% of new office construction spending in the U.S., a dramatic increase from just 5% a decade ago. [...]

  Traditional employment models are transforming into a dynamic, flexible system now known as the blended workforce. This evolution challenges old norms, such as long-term, full-time employment at a single company and offices filled exclusively with permanent staff, by integrating a variety of talent sources and technological advancements. A blended workforce is defined by the [...]

  Demand for U.S. industrial space—especially in the warehouse sector—fell for the first time in fifteen years during the second quarter of 2025, signaling a dramatic shift in commercial real estate dynamics since the pandemic-era boom. This decline was marked by an 11.3 million square foot contraction in the second quarter alone, with total net [...]