A recent survey of commercial real estate investors ranked Atlanta as a top 10 target among U.S. metros. The market held its spot at #4 among the most attractive markets for investment in CBRE’s 2025 U.S. Investor Intentions Survey.

Investors are strategically focusing on gateway markets offering discounts and high-growth Sun Belt markets like Atlanta, which continues to draw interest due to its growth potential. Other Sun Belt markets that ranked in the top 10 include Raleigh-Durham, Austin, and Phoenix. Dallas maintained its position as the top market for investment for the fourth consecutive year, with Miami ranking second. Boston emerges as an appealing market for investors, with Washington, D.C., and San Francisco also rejoining the top 10 most preferred ranking. 

“Atlanta’s position as the capital of the Southeast continues to be a strong draw for people, companies, and capital,” said Shea Campbell, a Vice Chairman at CBRE in Atlanta. “The metro’s diversity of educational institutions and employment sectors have driven population growth in recent years, as well as a flurry of multifamily development that peaked in mid-2024. These factors have paved the way for sustained leasing velocity and rent growth, increasing investor confidence for the foreseeable future.”

 “Investors are preparing to deploy more capital into the U.S. commercial real estate market this year, drawn by the attractive pricing environment and strong fundamentals,” said Kevin Aussef, Americas President of Investment Properties for CBRE. “Interestingly, investors are more optimistic about their own prospects compared to the broader market outlook, viewing the ongoing reset in pricing as a key opportunity to secure a first-mover advantage as the recovery gains momentum.”

Other Key Findings from CBRE’s 2025 U.S. Investor Intentions Survey:

• Investor Sentiment: 70% of investors plan to acquire more assets in 2025, driven by favorable pricing and the improving recovery of real estate fundamentals.

• Investment Recovery: Investors are broadly positive about the overall market and even more so about their own plans, with 75% anticipating a rebound in their own investment activity by the first half of the year and over half already experiencing recovery.

• Property Types:  Investors are prioritizing high-quality assets, focusing on multifamily (75%) and industrial & logistics (37%). An increasing number of investors are targeting Retail and Office assets compared to last year.

• Preferred Strategies: Investors are adjusting their strategies to align with the evolving market cycle, with two-thirds favoring value-add and core-plus strategies. This indicates that investors are seeking opportunities that offer higher returns with lower risk amid a continued economic expansion. In line with this trend, opportunistic, core, distressed, and debt strategies have seen declines compared to the previous year.

• Biggest Challenge: Investors cite elevated and volatile long-term interest rates, higher operating costs and an uncertain path for interest rates as the top three challenges in 2025.