Tucson, AZ (December 19, 2025) -- The January issue of Trend Report is out today. As the Editor's Insight reflects on 2025, one theme stands out: this was not a year defined by speed or spectacle, but by discernment. Across Southern Arizona’s commercial real estate landscape, capital slowed, underwriting sharpened, and decision-making became more deliberate. The result was not stagnation, but clarity.
This issue of Trend Report captures that shift. From lending markets recalibrating after years of volatility to land, industrial, retail, and multifamily sectors finding firmer footing, 2025 rewarded those who focused on fundamentals, execution, and long-term vision. The professionals and projects featured here did not wait for conditions to improve; they adapted, restructured, and moved forward with purpose.
That same philosophy underpins the 2025 Best in Class Influencers Awards, which recognize commercial real estate professionals whose performance, leadership, and credibility consistently set the standard across Southern Arizona. The awards are based on verified sales-volume performance from October 2024 through September 2025, paired with demonstrated professionalism, integrity, and meaningful influence in the marketplace.
2025 Best in Class Influencer Award recipients are:
- Industrial: Erik Chapman, CCIM, CPM, and Nicholas Travassos, CCIM, MRED, Chapman Management Group
- Retail: Jeramy Price, VOLK Company
- Office: Rick Kleiner, Cushman & Wakefield | PICOR
- Multifamily (Under 100 Units): Allan Mendelsberg and Joey Martinez, Cushman & Wakefield | PICOR
- Multifamily (Over 100 Units): Clint Wadlund and Hamid Panahi, IPA – Institutional Property Advisors
- Residential Land: Will White and John Carroll, Land Advisors Organization
- Industrial Land: Steve Cohen, Cushman & Wakefield | PICOR
- Commercial Land: Brenna Lacey, VOLK Company
In a year when deals required more creativity, more patience, and more precision, these honorees distinguished themselves not simply by volume, but by execution. Many of the transactions completed during this period involved layered capital structures, entitlement challenges, distressed assets, or prolonged timelines—circumstances that demanded credibility, trust, and deep market knowledge.
This year also marks an important milestone with the inaugural CCIM Dealmaker Awards, a new recognition program from the CCIM Institute honoring exceptional individual transactions across major property categories. Submissions were evaluated based on deal size and market significance, complexity and challenges overcome, innovation in deal structure, and overall economic and community impact.
Tucson-area CCIM Dealmaker Award recipients include:
- Industrial Investment: Erik Chapman, CCIM
- Retail (Ground Lease): George Larsen, CCIM
- Office Investment: Isaac Figueroa, CCIM, SIOR
- Retail Investment: Craig Finfrock, CCIM, CRX, CLS
The strong crossover between CCIM Dealmaker honorees and Trend Report’s Best in Class Influencers recipients is no coincidence. It reinforces a consistent theme we see year after year: the professionals driving the region’s most impactful transactions are the same leaders repeatedly recognized by their peers for excellence, insight, and integrity.
Throughout 2025, capital did not disappear—it became more selective. Investors were more disciplined. Lenders more analytical. Projects with clear strategies and strong fundamentals found traction, even in a higher-rate environment, while those without struggled to move forward. Multifamily stabilized rather than stalled. Industrial continued to attract long-term capital. Retail proved that when rooftops, traffic, and timing align, opportunity follows. Land, perhaps more than any other asset class, underscored the urgency of infrastructure investment and long-range planning.
As we pivot into 2026, the lessons of 2025 are clear. Markets reward preparation. Influence is earned through consistency. And leadership matters most when conditions are uncertain.
The professionals recognized in this issue are shaping not just transactions, but trajectories—setting standards for how Southern Arizona grows, invests, and evolves. Their work reminds us that real influence is not about reacting to the market, but about helping define what comes next. Our February issue will be "Finance Trends" and we're still seeking contributors.
I extend my sincere thanks to all who share research and perspective with Trend Report, and to our production team—Patti vanLeer, Michael Rossmann, and Jack Paddock—for bringing each issue to life.
As we close the year, I also extend warm holiday wishes to our readers, contributors, advertisers, and industry partners. Wishing you a successful close to 2025 and a strong, opportunity-filled start to 2026.
Karen M. Schutte
Managing Editor, Trend Report