The much-anticipated Great Wealth Transfer is often framed in terms of stocks, bonds, and retirement accounts. But a substantial portion of the estimated $124 trillion expected to pass from older Americans to heirs and charities over the next two decades is tied up in commercial real estate—assets that rarely transfer as cleanly as a portfolio of equities.
According to MSCI data analyzed by Colliers International, U.S. commercial real estate investment volume reached $113.7 billion in the second quarter of 2026, a 9% year-over-year increase and the third consecutive quarter of near- or double-digit growth. Industrial properties led the rebound with a 27% jump in transaction volume, while retail followed at 13%. Yet even as deal activity recovers from the 2023–2024 downturn, many long-time owners—often aging out of active management—have no formal plan for what comes next.
Chase Mayhugh, president and CEO of Mayhugh Commercial Advisors in Fort Myers, Florida, calls succession planning the most overlooked risk facing commercial property owners today. His firm, which has completed more than 3,000 transactions representing over $2.2 billion in volume since its founding in 1975, has spent the past two years building out an advisory platform specifically to address this challenge.
“Many families have spent decades building extraordinary commercial real estate portfolios,” Mayhugh said. “But too often, they’ve invested far more time planning how to acquire assets than how those assets will eventually be transferred, managed, or preserved.”
Unlike a stock portfolio, a commercial property holding typically involves multiple legal entities, complex financing structures, tax considerations, and active management responsibilities. When an owner steps back without a coordinated plan, family dynamics can fracture quickly. “Commercial real estate isn’t simply inherited, it has to be operated,” Mayhugh noted. “The next generation may suddenly become responsible for leasing, financing, capital improvements, insurance, and tenant relationships without ever having managed those responsibilities before.”
For advisors, clients with significant commercial real estate holdings require a fundamentally different planning conversation—one that intersects tax strategy, estate law, asset management, and portfolio construction in ways that go well beyond standard investment planning. Many such clients already work with accountants and attorneys on transactional matters but lack a coordinating advisor who can bring the full picture together.
Mayhugh’s firm has built its model around three pillars: strategy, covering portfolio evaluation and long-term investment decisions; execution, coordinating financing, leasing, tax planning, and operational improvements; and continuity, working alongside attorneys, CPAs, and family members to preserve wealth across generations. “We’re not replacing attorneys or accountants,” Mayhugh said. “Our role is to bring everyone together so decisions are coordinated instead of made in isolation.”
The market backdrop adds urgency. MSCI figures for Q2 2026, compiled by Steig Seaward, senior national director of research at Colliers, show entity-level transactions reemerged, with three notable take-private deals—Veris Residential, ECHO Realty, and Peakstone Realty Trust—signaling that institutional capital is actively repositioning. Pricing remains mixed: the all-property index rose just 0.9% in the quarter, industrial pricing turned modestly negative, and multifamily fell 1.7% year over year.
That divergence between sector-level pricing and transaction volume growth is itself a planning variable. Industrial remains among the most liquid sectors, while garden-apartment multifamily is softening—details that matter when helping a client decide whether to hold, restructure, or begin a generational transfer. As the wealth transfer accelerates, advisors who can navigate these complexities may find themselves in high demand. Related coverage on heirs unprepared for stewardship and Osaic's succession planning push underscores the growing focus on this niche.
