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This page gathers the latest figures on Tyler's commercial real estate market from Sam Scarborough's monthly column in the Tyler Morning Telegraph, with the source for each number. Sam Scarborough, CCIM, is broker and president of Scarborough Commercial Real Estate in Tyler and has practiced commercial real estate in East Texas since 2017. The page is updated as each new column is published.
Retail. Tyler has approximately 14.4 million square feet of retail space with a vacancy rate of about 4.9 percent, and average asking rents of approximately $17.80 per square foot, up about 2 percent over the past year. Put another way, about 95 percent of the city's retail space is occupied. (CoStar, August 2026)
Population. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates Tyler's population reached 113,723 in 2025, up approximately 7.4 percent from the 2020 estimate base, and Smith County grew to an estimated 252,549 residents, up roughly 8.2 percent. (U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 estimates)
Retail sales. During the first quarter of 2026 the Texas Comptroller reported approximately $1.3 billion in retail-trade gross sales across the Tyler metropolitan area, about 2.5 percent higher than the same period a year earlier. (Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts)
Apartments. Tyler apartment occupancy was 90.1 percent as of August 2026, with average effective rent of about $1,237, and 564 new units are under way at Landmark @31, The Parker at Tyler and Oak Hill Apartments. (Tyler Apartment Association, August 2026)
Interest rates and investment sales. The Federal Reserve held its benchmark rate at 3.50 to 3.75 percent at its June 2026 meeting. U.S. commercial real estate transaction value was $179.9 billion in Q4 2025, up 20.2 percent year over year, and 2026 investment volume is forecast to rise 16 percent nationally. In Scarborough CRE's own comp database, the typical closing price compared to list price is about 97 cents on the dollar, up from about 94 cents two years ago. (Federal Reserve, June 17, 2026; Altus Group Q4 2025 report; CBRE 2026 U.S. Real Estate Market Outlook; Scarborough CRE internal comp database)
Healthcare. Healthcare accounts for 17.5 percent of Tyler's local economy, and CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances and UT Health East Texas together employ nearly 9,000 people. (UT Tyler Hibbs Institute)
BJ's Wholesale Club has announced an approximately 106,000-square-foot store on South Broadway. Brookshire Grocery Co. has broken ground on a 58,467-square-foot store and fuel station on Earl Campbell Parkway. Academy Sports + Outdoors is planning a second Tyler store near Southwest Loop 323 and Earl Campbell Parkway. Downtown, the Downtown Improvement Project runs through spring 2028, the new Smith County Courthouse is on track for completion in December 2026, and the Blackstone Hotel is expected to break ground with 144 rooms. The $308 million UT Tyler School of Medicine building has opened in the Midtown District.
Each month's column, with sources, is on our blog:
Steady. Retail vacancy is about 4.9 percent with rents up about 2 percent in a year, the population keeps growing, national retailers such as BJ's Wholesale Club and Academy Sports + Outdoors are adding stores, and the new UT Tyler School of Medicine building has opened in the Midtown District.
About 4.9 percent on roughly 14.4 million square feet of retail space, with average asking rents of approximately $17.80 per square foot, according to CoStar as of August 2026.
South Broadway and the roads around Cumberland Park, North Tyler along Interstate 20 including the Wisenbaker Tract and North Tyler Commerce Park, the downtown core, and the apartment corridors on Highway 31 East, Golden Road and Oak Hill Boulevard.
After each monthly column is published in the Tyler Morning Telegraph, usually within the month.
Sam Scarborough, CCIM, broker and president of Scarborough Commercial Real Estate in Tyler, who writes a monthly commercial real estate column for the Tyler Morning Telegraph.
Call (903) 707-8560 or send us a note. 410 W. Erwin, Tyler, TX 75702.
