The survey, which examined attitudes among both retail CRE investors and investment advisory firms, found the inclination to change course closely tied to age. Among Gen Z investors, 69% reported having altered their investment approach, while another 18% were considering changes and just 13% said they had not adjusted their plans. Millennials were less reactive, with 48% having made changes, 21% considering them, and 31% sticking with their current strategy. The figures continued to drop with older groups: 42% of Gen X had shifted course, compared with 24% of baby boomers. More than half of boomers—55%—said they had not made any changes at all.
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Agora cautioned that the findings come from a relatively small sample size. Only 87 respondents reported changes to their plans, limiting the statistical weight of breaking the data into subgroups.
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Among those who did shift strategies, nearly half—49%—moved into new asset classes, while 48% explored new geographic markets. In many cases, these groups overlapped. Another 44% reduced or paused acquisitions, and 26% pursued smaller deals.
Regional patterns varied significantly. In the Northeast, 42% of those making changes moved into new asset types, and 47% paused or reduced acquisitions. In the Southeast, those numbers were higher, at 48% and 52%, respectively. The Southwest saw the largest pivot, with 82% investing in new asset classes and 68% expanding into new regions, while the Midwest was split evenly at 50% for both new asset types and new markets. In the West, just 18% shifted to new asset categories, though 47% targeted new geographies and more than half reduced acquisitions.
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Overall, multifamily properties remained the most common asset type in focus, cited by 51% of investors, followed by mixed-use at 33%, industrial at 22%, and both office and retail at 20%. Hospitality accounted for 8% of interest, while 12% of respondents were uncertain about their focus.
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Geographically, investor attention was concentrated on the Southeast (28%), Southwest (26%), and Northeast (25%), followed by the Midwest (22%) and West Coast (18%). Sixteen percent reported looking nationwide, while 10% were focused internationally. Only 2% specifically targeted the Sun Belt, despite its having been a high-profile destination in recent years.
When describing their current stance, 47% of retail investors identified as “opportunistic,” 25% as “aggressive,” 17% as “defensive,” and 10% as “on hold.”
Investment advisory firms reflected a similar environment of strategic adjustment. According to Agora, 44% said they were revising strategies, and 48% characterized their current approach as opportunistic. More than half—58%—reported challenges in raising capital. Communication frequency with investors appears to be increasing, with 38% of firms sending updates weekly, 28% monthly, and 15% only when necessary.