Hello Brick Brief readers, 

Happy Monday. The Supreme Court struck down Trump’s tariffs, AI is attracting fresh proptech capital, and industrial demand is beginning to stabilize.

⚖️ Tariffs Reset As Growth Slows
The Supreme Court struck down Trump’s tariff regime, prompting Trump to invoke Section 122 and impose a temporary 150 day 15% global tariff, lifting the effective rate to ~13.7% and injecting fresh uncertainty into trade policy. Against that backdrop, Q4 GDP slowed to 1.4% while core PCE rose 3.0% YoY as December inflation reaccelerated; Fed officials are split, as Bostic argues sustained above trend growth could keep inflation near 3% while Logan says policy is well positioned, with no rush to cut.

🤖 AI Concentrates Proptech Capital
Proptech funding jumped 176% YoY to $1.7B in January across 50 deals, as average deal size climbed to $34M and capital concentrated in larger AI driven platforms. Investors are directing capital toward leasing automation, construction management software and asset management analytics because they now view AI as the most credible path to scalable, measurable ROI that reduces labor costs, improves underwriting precision and expands margins.

🏭 Industrial Demand Stabilizes As Supply Peaks
Industrial absorption reached 113M SF in late 2025, as 500K+ SF leases rose 32% YoY and large format logistics facilities led a rebound from the 2023 to 2024 slowdown. U.S. industrial construction averaged 71M SF per quarter in 2025, marking the lowest pace since the mid 2010s; flattening vacancy suggests the market is nearing peak supply.

Supreme Court strikes down Trump’s tariff regime, prompting immediate shift to 15% global tariff under Section 122 – Temporary 150-day levy lifts effective rate to ~13.7% and sets up renewed legal and economic uncertainty (FT & WSJ)

US GDP slowed to 1.4% in Q4 as shutdown drove biggest federal spending drop since 1972 – Core PCE rose 3.0% YoY with December inflation accelerating, keeping Fed on hold (Reuters)

US business activity slowed in February as S&P Composite PMI fell to 52.3, lowest since April – New orders weakened and employment stalled as data pointed to 1.5% Q1 GDP growth (Reuters)

Supreme Court tariff ruling and new 15% global levy sent CEOs back to war rooms – Companies weigh pursuing billions in refunds while bracing for renewed trade costs and pricing pressure (WSJ)

Dallas Fed’s Logan says inflation likely to ease but 2% target remains uncertain – Calls policy “well positioned” amid tariff uncertainty and strong AI-driven demand, signaling no rush to cut rates (Reuters)

Atlanta Fed’s Bostic calls 2.2% GDP growth “pretty strong” as it exceeds ~1.8% potential – Warns above-trend growth could keep 3% inflation elevated and supports keeping rates tight (Reuters)

New-home sales rose late in 2025 but full-year volume fell 1.1% to 679K – Lower rates and 2% YoY price decline to $414.4K helped push months’ supply down to 7.6 (Realtor.com)

New home sales rose to 758K in November before slipping to 745K in December – December sales topped 738K consensus as activity cooled into year end (WSJ)

Apartment REITs shift focus to balance sheet flexibility as new supply normalizes – Management teams prioritize capital discipline over near-term growth amid easing construction pipeline (CoStar)

Industrial absorption hit 113M SF in late 2025 as 500K+ SF deals rose 32% YoY – Large-format logistics facilities led rebound from 2023–2024 slowdown (CushmanWakefield)

U.S. industrial construction averaged 71M SF per quarter in 2025, lowest since mid-2010s – Flattening vacancy suggests market nearing peak supply (CushmanWakefield)

Select industrial markets continue to outperform despite national moderation – Modern facilities and 3PL demand support leasing and capital markets activity (CushmanWakefield)

Cushman’s data align with Prologis’ view that industrial real estate has reached a turning point as construction slows, vacancy stabilizes and leasing momentum strengthens. Large-box logistics, a 2025 underperformer, was stabilizing by year-end.

Asia–U.S. East Coast container rates fell 12% to $3,000 per FEU – Lunar New Year slowdown and shifting trade flows pressured trans-Pacific pricing (FreightWaves)

UPS plans to close 22 facilities in 2026, including 200K+ SF hubs in Atlanta, GA, West Columbia, SC, and three sites in Massachusetts – Move supports plan to cut 30,000 jobs and reduce low-margin Amazon volume (Bisnow)

Home Depot and Lowe’s traffic rose ~3% YoY in November with momentum carrying into early 2026 – Foot traffic rebound and steady big-ticket spending point to gradual stabilization in home improvement (Placerai)

Home Depot and Lowe’s report Q4 earnings later this week, which should provide us a clearer read on recent big-ticket renovation demand and consumer project activity heading into the spring season. Their 2026 outlook will also indicate whether they see home improvement activity stabilizing alongside existing home turnover or remaining constrained by rate driven affordability pressures.

Loudoun County becomes world’s largest data center hub as AI spending tops $42B annually – Tax revenue now ~45% of county total, fueling growth while straining power grids and local oversight (WSJ)

Blue Owl denies financing problems on $4B 100MW CoreWeave-leased Pennsylvania data center – Firm has $500M bridge loan in place and says CoreWeave exposure equals 1% of real assets AUM (Bisnow)

U.S. hotel RevPAR forecast raised to +0.6% in 2026 after -0.3% decline in 2025 – Modest demand rebound, constrained +0.7% supply growth, and World Cup-driven 0.4% lift support gradual recovery (CoStar)

Irish building materials manufacturer Kingspan posted record revenue as data center infrastructure sales rose 12% with backlog up 24% – North America and hyperscaler demand offset weaker residential markets (Bloomberg)

Opendoor posted $1.3B net loss in 2025 as revenue fell 17.9% to $4.37B and homes sold dropped to 11,791 – Company expects breakeven by late 2026 as it cuts purchases and expenses (HousingWire)

Blackstone’s $11.5B acquisition of regulated electric utility TXNM Energy cleared by FERC – Regulators found no adverse impact on rates as antitrust waiting period expired (Reuters)

Office CMBS delinquency hits record 12.34% in January, topping October’s 11.76% peak – Surge driven by large NYC loans as maturity defaults, not cash flow collapse, dominate distress (Trepp)

Deutsche Bank extends $90M CMBS loan for Maxxam Enterprises’ Promenade Gateway mixed-use complex in Santa Monica, CA – Borrower pushed maturity to December 2028 after transferring debt to special servicing ahead of 2025 deadline (CommercialObserver)

Proptech funding jumped 176% YoY to $1.7B in January across 50 deals – Average deal size rose to $34M as capital concentrated in larger, AI-driven platforms (CNBC)

A key theme last year was proptech that delivered real ROI, and this funding surge suggests investors now view AI as the most credible way to achieve it at scale. Investors are directing capital to AI-driven leasing automation, construction management software, and asset management analytics because these platforms reduce labor costs, improve underwriting precision, and generate measurable margin gains