Policy, Politics and Progress: How 2025 Reshaped Commercial Real Estate

By Brielle Scott for Market Share Blog | December 15, 2025

As we close out 2025, NAIOP’s Senior Vice President for Government Affairs Aquiles Suarez joined the organization’s Inside CRE Podcast to offer his sharp perspective on the intersection of policy, politics and commercial real estate.

Suarez shared why this year will be remembered as one of the most pivotal for the commercial real estate industry in decades, with sweeping legislative victories that will shape the market for years to come.

For years, NAIOP and its members fought annual battles to extend critical tax provisions. This year, that cycle ended. In the “One Big Beautiful Bill” passed earlier this year, nearly every major real estate priority was secured – and made permanent.

“We had probably the biggest victory in more than two decades for the commercial real estate industry,” said Suarez. Bonus depreciation was restored to 100% and made permanent; the 20% pass-through deduction for LLCs was preserved; and tax rates for capital gains and ordinary income were kept at the same level. This kind of stability offers predictability for investors and developers, a critical factor in long-term planning, said Suarez.

Allowing provisions to expire has historically been an easy way for lawmakers to raise revenue without explicitly taking a vote. “Now, a party, whether it be Republican or Democrat, would have to proactively get rid of these provisions and raise taxes,” Suarez explained, “and that’s always politically more difficult.” Permanent tax policy gives the commercial real estate industry greater certainty going forward.

With midterm elections in 2026, there’s talk of another reconciliation bill aimed at delivering fresh tax breaks. However, deficit concerns among some Republican lawmakers may limit the scope of any new incentives.

One legislative initiative that has bipartisan support is creating tax incentives for the adaptive reuse of underutilized commercial structures. While it didn’t make it into this year’s reconciliation bill due to cost concerns, NAIOP plans to continue advocating for inclusion of the idea in future legislation. For many older buildings, post-pandemic high vacancy rates are not going away. Adaptive reuse could be an additional tool for increasing the supply of housing and urban revitalization.