2025 Year in Review: Joseph Aquino, JAACRES

What accomplishment, milestone, project or transaction stood out for you or your firm in 2025? 

2025 marked a major personal and professional milestone with the publication of my memoir, “Memoirs of a Watch Salesman: A New York Real Estate Story.” What began as a personal project became a business-building platform, generating industry-wide visibility, national distribution through Barnes & Noble and Amazon, and five-star reviews from leaders across real estate, finance, and media. The book has opened doors to speaking opportunities, new client relationships, and meaningful reconnects with longtime colleagues and principals. It reminded me that storytelling is as powerful as transactions and that credibility built over decades still resonates when it’s authentic, raw, and honest.

What emerging trends or shifts will shape opportunities for you, your firm, or market sector in 2026? 2026 will be a defining reset year for commercial real estate. Tenants are becoming more surgical — prioritizing value, flexibility, and long-term optionality over vanity addresses. Office leasing will continue shifting toward higher-quality buildings at re-priced rents, creating rare opportunities for well-advised occupiers to lock in generational value. Retail will further polarize: strong luxury and experiential concepts will outperform while mid-tier brands struggle to differentiate. Meanwhile, landlords will increasingly need brokers who can think like operators, not just dealmakers. Strategy, negotiation depth, and creativity — not just inventory — will separate winners from survivors in the year ahead.