PREA Quarterly Spring 2025: Reframing Risk: A Data-Driven Case for Investing in Secondary and Tertiary Markets in the Western US

Prevailing institutional groupthink has long preferred primary markets as the de facto target for core and value-added real estate strategies. However, nascent research suggests that secondary and tertiary markets in the Western US may offer not only competitive but in many cases superior economic stability and real estate performance. Drawing on two decades of comparative data across economic indicators and real estate fundamentals, this article presents a comprehensive reassessment of the investment potential in secondary and tertiary Western US markets. By analyzing long-run patterns in GDP growth, job creation, population trends, and commercial real estate metrics across multifamily and industrial sectors, we offer a robust, data driven perspective on why these smaller markets merit institutional attention. As capital allocators face a structurally shifting landscape, rethinking geographic allocation could prove essential not just for alpha generation but also for portfolio resilience in the face of systemic volatility.

Read More
Secondary and Tertiary Markets in Western U.S. Prove Stronger and More Stable

Despite misconceptions around market performance of secondary and tertiary markets in the Western United States, these markets prove to be more economically robust and less volatile than primary markets, according to Graceada Partners’ research reports, Economic Vibrancy in Secondary & Tertiary Markets and Real Estate Fundamentals in Western U.S. Secondary & Tertiary Markets.

Read More
Matthieu Bouchard