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Donald Trump’s return to the White House in 2025 brings significant implications for international commercial real estate investors. His administration’s early policy signals include proposed tax reforms, deregulation efforts, and trade policies. These changes are already influencing commercial property markets across the United States.
According to a recent JP Morgan commercial real estate outlook, the administration’s emphasis on deregulation could accelerate commercial development timelines by up to 30% in key markets. The National Association of Realtors reports that international investment in U.S. commercial properties reached $57.7 billion in 2024. These investors now face a recalibrated landscape of opportunities.
For investors operating in this shifting environment, understanding the specific policy changes affecting everything from financing to zoning becomes crucial for strategic positioning in America’s commercial real estate markets.
Trump’s Deregulation Agenda for Commercial Development
The cornerstone of President Trump’s second-term economic strategy is an ambitious deregulation initiative aimed directly at accelerating commercial development.
In January 2025, the administration launched a sweeping “10-to-1” deregulation program, requiring federal agencies to eliminate ten existing regulations for every new one proposed. This approach, formalized through Executive Order 14126, impacts regulations that have historically slowed commercial construction and development.
For international investors, these deregulatory efforts may translate to concrete advantages:
- Reduced holding costs during entitlement phases
- Faster time-to-market for commercial developments
- Lower compliance expenditures across project lifecycles
- Increased certainty in development timelines
America First Trade Policies and Industrial Real Estate
The Trump administration’s renewed “America First” trade agenda has quickly emerged as a defining policy initiative with direct implications for industrial real estate markets across the United States.
The cornerstone of this approach is a baseline 10% ad valorem tariff applied to imports from most countries, effective April 5th, 2025. A few days later, on April 9th, a 90-day pause on future tariff increases was announced. However, for the moment China is bearing the brunt of Trump’s tariffs, with the most recently announced rate of 145%.
While the actual effect of these tariff policies remains to be seen, they could disproportionately impact low and medium-income consumers, which in turn might affect retail and multifamily properties in lower-income locations. The potential impact on industrial real estate may vary significantly by sector and property type:
• Manufacturing Facilities: Markets with existing industrial ecosystems, skilled labor availability, and proximity to transportation corridors might see the most significant benefits from this trend.
• Warehousing and Distribution: Border regions, particularly along the Mexican border, could experience increased industrial activity as companies implement nearshoring strategies to mitigate tariff impacts while maintaining proximity to the U.S. market.
• Logistics Hubs: Secondary and tertiary markets might see stronger industrial space absorption as companies reconfigure supply chains in response to changing trade economics.
• Intermodal Facilities: Properties with intermodal access may command increasingly premium valuations as supply chain resilience becomes a strategic priority.
• Regional Winners: Markets with established manufacturing infrastructures in the Southeast and Southwest could be positioned to capitalize on manufacturing return-to-U.S. trends.
• Foreign Investment Patterns: International capital might increasingly target industrial assets supporting domestic production rather than import-dependent facilities.
• Adaptive Industrial Space: As companies hedge against policy volatility, properties that can accommodate multiple industrial uses could command premium rents in major markets.
Housing Development Under the New Administration
As noted by JPMorgan Chase, the administration has identified housing costs as a priority, expressing support for expanding supply and reducing costs through policy initiatives. This focus on housing affordability might create downstream effects for commercial real estate investors, particularly those with mixed-use portfolios or developments in secondary markets.
Regulatory reforms targeting zoning, construction, and environmental regulations could potentially make developing both residential and commercial properties more streamlined. However, as JPMorgan Chase analysts observe, these benefits might be partially offset by other policy considerations—particularly those affecting construction labor and materials.
If the administration continues implementing stricter immigration policies while simultaneously increasing tariffs on building materials, construction costs could rise through a combination of higher wages, material costs, and financing expenses. Commercial real estate investors should carefully monitor these competing policy dynamics when evaluating potential housing-adjacent investments or mixed-use development opportunities.
Trump Administration’s Approach to Commercial Financing
President Trump has consistently advocated for lower interest rates, applying unprecedented public pressure on the Federal Reserve to accelerate rate cuts. According to recent Reuters reporting, this pressure has been reflected in Treasury bond performance, with yields showing marked volatility following administration statements on monetary policy.
The Federal Reserve now faces a complex balancing act as it weighs potential rate cuts against the inflationary risk posed by the administration’s trade policies. As The New York Times reports, “Trump’s global trade war has significantly raised the bar for the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates, as tariffs risk” creating upward pressure on prices.
If the administration succeeds in its push for lower rates while moderating its tariff policies—as suggested by a recent CNBC report indicating a “Trump pivot on tariffs”—the commercial real estate financing environment could become highly favorable, potentially driving cap rate compression in major markets.
Strategic CRE Investment Approaches Under the Trump Administration
As policies continue to evolve during the administration’s first months in office, international investors should consider several strategic approaches to optimize their U.S. commercial real estate portfolios:
- Geographic Targeting Based on Policy Beneficiaries: Focus on markets in manufacturing-heavy states and regions targeted for infrastructure investment that align with federal deregulation efforts and may experience accelerated commercial development.
- Sector Rotation Strategy: Shift allocations toward industrial properties supporting domestic manufacturing, data centers benefiting from technological sovereignty initiatives, and residential properties in areas experiencing population growth due to reshoring.
- Financing Structure Optimization: Consider laddered debt maturities to hedge against rate volatility, explore fixed-rate financing while rates potentially trend lower, and maintain flexibility to refinance should the administration successfully pressure the Federal Reserve into significant rate cuts.
- Regulatory Arbitrage Positioning: Target investments in jurisdictions where federal deregulatory changes will have the most significant impact, particularly in Opportunity Zones that the administration has indicated it will expand.
- Supply Chain Resilience Focus: Prioritize properties that support tenants’ efforts to build more resilient supply chains, such as distribution centers for e-commerce, manufacturing facilities capable of supporting reshoring, and properties near intermodal transportation hubs.
Are you considering properties poised to benefit from reshoring? Perhaps you’re looking at ground-up developments in deregulation-friendly markets. Maybe you’re planning strategic portfolio repositioning to align with new trade realities.
Lendai’s digital-first approach and specialized foreign investor focus make securing the right financing simple and efficient. Contact Lendai today to explore how their tailored financing solutions can help you maximize returns on your U.S. commercial real estate investments in this dynamic policy environment.
