Weekly Perl: A Commercial Real Estate News Recap

Retail Real Estate Leaders Brace for Inflation Risks
Retail real estate professionals arrived at ICSC Las Vegas this week with leasing momentum still intact, but economic anxiety creeping into conversations across the industry’s biggest annual gathering. Executives interviewed by CoStar News said resilient
consumer spending and active retailer demand continue to support the sector, even as inflation, fuel prices, and global instability cloud the outlook for the second half of 2026...
CRE Lenders Finally Cut Losses on Distressed Debt
According to Bloomberg, commercial real estate lenders are finally
forcing a reset. After years of extending loan maturities and waiting for interest rates, office demand, and valuations to rebound, banks and debt funds are increasingly selling distressed CRE debt at steep discounts or taking control of troubled properties outright...
Top economist sounds alarm on America’s 40% recession risk, warns stocks are disconnected from reality
Despite triumphant headlines from Wall Street, one prominent economic forecaster is sounding the alarm that the U.S. economy is sitting on a razor's edge.
In a recent interview with TheStreet, Moody’s Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi placed the probability of a U.S. recession within the next year at 40%, compared to a historical average of about 15%.
"So, 40% is very elevated, very uncomfortable — it gives you a sense of how close I think things are to the edge here," he said...
Jack in the Box CEO out; to close 50 to 100 restaurants
The chief executive of Jack in the Box has left just 14 months after he took the job on a permanent basis.

Lance Tucker is out as CEO of Jack in the Box. He was named to the role on an interim basis in February 2025, following the departure of CEO Darin Harris, and on a permanent basis shortly after.
The quick-serve burger chain has appointed Mark King as executive chairman and interim CEO, effective immediately. King, a member of the Jack in the Box board since November 2025 and its chair since March 2026, is the former CEO of Taco Bell Corp...
Study: Family Dollar closed ‘at least’ 350 stores in past 10 months — here’s where
An analysis of Family Dollar store closings reveals the states that are taking the heaviest hits.
The discounter, whose sale by Dollar Tree to Brigade Capital Management and Macellum Capital was completed in July 2025, has closed “at least” 350 stores from July 7, 2025, to May 12, 2026, representing a 4.69% reduction in the size of the chain, according to an analysis by Local Falcon. (In July 2025, Dollar Tree Inc. completed the sale of Family Dollar to private equity firms Brigade Capital Management and Macellum Capital...)
Bed Bath & Beyond moves in to first Container Store, with dozens more to follow
The parent company of Bed Bath & Beyond and the Container Store is opening the first retail site combining the two brands, with dozens more to follow, in an experiment aimed at linking home essentials with organizational and design services.

The strategy involves transforming an existing Container Store in Fort Worth, Texas, by removing about one-third of its Container Store products to make room for home goods from Bed Bath & Beyond. The removed items include duplicate products from multiple manufacturers and some merchandise that executives decided not to sell any more, such as a $200 luxury laundry hamper...
Dollar Stores Face Margin Squeeze as Gas Prices Climb
Dollar stores have spent the past year riding one of retail’s strongest tailwinds: Americans across nearly every income bracket hunting for cheaper goods. The Commercial Observer reports that that trade-down effect helped Dollar General, Dollar Tree, and Five Below post
improved results through late 2025 and into 2026, supporting thousands of planned store openings and remodels nationwide...

Home Depot Q1 sales rise 5% despite headwinds
The Home Depot got a sales lift in April fueled by strong demand in its spring-related and “pro” categories.
The home improvement giant’s first-quarter sales gain, which beat Wall Street expectations, came despite continued pressure from housing affordability and cautious consumer spending around large discretionary projects...

FAT Brands Split Up in Nearly $1 Billion Bankruptcy Sales Process
FAT Brands’ sprawling bankruptcy process appears to have been finalized.
A Texas court approved Tuesday the sale of more than a dozen concepts in the portfolio, with a total value of nearly $1 billion.
The largest piece of the restructuring came through a $595 million credit bid submitted by lenders that covers Fatburger, Johnny Rockets, Buffalo’s Cafe, Buffalo’s Express, Hurricane Grill & Wings, Ponderosa Steakhouse, Bonanza Steakhouse, Yalla Mediterranean, Great American Cookies, Marble Slab Creamery, Pretzelmaker, Round Table Pizza, Fazoli’s, and Native Grill & Wings...

Rising Bond Yields Deepen CRE Leasing Divide Across Markets
Globe St reports that commercial real estate entered 2026 expecting a
steadier recovery, but surging bond yields and geopolitical volatility are complicating the outlook. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield climbed to roughly 4.6% on May 15, according to Treasury Department and MarketWatch data, marking its largest weekly jump since the tariff-driven market turmoil of April 2025...












