Real estate brokers, owners and tenants pushed through big apartment, office, industrial and retail deals during the third quarter, a period marked by signs that persistent inflation, disruptions to capital markets and slowing job growth could curtail real estate activity.

The sale and lease deals recognized in the latest CoStar Power Broker Quarterly Deal Awards for the three months that ended Sept. 30 stood out as some of the biggest of the past 12 months.

They reflected some of the trends that emerged during the pandemic. National retailers are clamoring for warehouse space to deal with supply-chain disruptions and changing shopping habits, and investors continue to bet on rental housing in high-growth markets experiencing a strong influx of jobs and residents.

Large deals in New York show that office and retail leasing has rebounded in Manhattan as workers slowly return to offices and international store chains such as the French retailer Printemps look to establish a presence in the nation's biggest U.S. commercial property market.

Texas Investor Pays $1.8 Billion for Sun Belt Multifamily Portfolio

An apartment portfolio spanning 17 states in the nation's Sun Belt traded for $1.8 billion as a Dallas-based real estate investment firm bet on the future of housing in high-growth markets experiencing strong in-migration of jobs and residents.

Affiliates of Lone Star Funds bought the 46-property portfolio that totals 9,205 apartment units from a joint venture that includes Dallas-based Transcontinental Realty Investors and Australia-based Macquarie Capital.

Lone Star and other multifamily investors have banked on the future of multifamily properties at a time when the capital markets have been roiled by investors grappling with the uncertainty of the economy and rising rates on debt.

The portfolio includes properties in such high-growth markets as Dallas-Fort Worth, San Antonio, Las Vegas and other cities that are seeing increased business relocations and population growth as people move from other parts of the United States.

Ryan Reid of Eastdil Secured was the listing broker on the sale.

Apparel Firm Inks Deal for Massive Southern California Warehouse

An apparel firm signed one of the biggest warehouse leases this year as strong demand prompts industrial developers to build more massive centers in Southern California's Inland Empire.

USAA Real Estate and McDonald Property Group recently broke ground on a 1.8 million-square-foot distribution center for United Legwear & Apparel Co. in Beaumont, California, about 80 miles east of downtown Los Angeles.

Other big tenants are stepping up to lease warehouses amid seemingly bottomless demand for distribution space across Southern California, especially the Inland Empire, one of the nation's largest warehouse and distribution markets.

Just east of Beaumont, footwear giant Skechers USA is expanding its already significant distribution presence in the region. Skechers plans to move into a 1 million-square-foot warehouse recently finished by Chicago-based landlord Logistics Property Co.

JLL's Luke McDaniel, Mac Hewett, Jeff Bellitti and Cameron Driscoll represented United Legwear in the Beaumont lease. A brokerage team headed by CBRE's Darla Longo represented the landlord.

Franklin Templeton Deal Confirms Demand for Top-Quality Manhattan Offices

Large financial and tech companies are looking for the best new and renovated space in Manhattan as they attempt to motivate workers to return to the office.

Investment firm Franklin Templeton, for instance, signed a 15-year lease for 347,474 square feet at One Madison Ave., a 1.4 million-square-foot building slated to open next year as the first major development in Manhattan’s Midtown South district in over a decade, according to the project's owner, SL Green, Manhattan’s largest office landlord.

Franklin Templeton's lease is Manhattan's second-largest office deal of the year, surpassed only by accounting firm KPMG's plan to relocate its U.S. headquarters to 450,000 square feet at Brookfield Properties’ Two Manhattan West. The two properties are among the new or redeveloping trophy towers that are commanding rents far above market averages.

Nearly half of the Manhattan office space leased in the third quarter was taken by the financial services, insurance and real estate sector, according to Colliers. The technology, advertising, media and information services sector had the second-highest share of office leasing volume, the brokerage said.

Franklin Templeton was represented by Rob Lowe, Jeff Cushman, John Cushman, Peyton Horn and Paige Engeldrum of Cushman & Wakefield. Paul Glickman, Alex Chudnoff, Diana Biasotti and Ben Bass of JLL represented the landlord.

French Retailer Picks Iconic Site in New York for First US Store

French luxury department store chain Printemps plans to open its first U.S. store at Broadway and Wall Street in the latest sign that upscale retailers want a high-profile presence in the Big Apple.

The chain founded in 1865 expects to open a two-level, 54,365-square-feet store at the One Wall Street building in the Financial District in spring of 2024.

The lease at the landmark building owned by developer Macklowe Properties is the largest retail deal signed in the city this year, according to CoStar data. Macklowe converted the 56-story building that opened in 1931 into luxury condominiums following a five-year, $1.5 billion overhaul that is the biggest office-to-residential conversion in the city's history.

The moves underline the Paris-based retailer’s desire to become a global luxury player and to open up new physical and virtual markets.

Jaclyn Totolo, Peter Whitenack and Scott Zinovoy of Newmark represented Macklowe Properties.