The Research Triangle isn’t just living off its reputation anymore. The biggest names in tech are putting billion-dollar bets on this market right now. Apple. Google. Barclays. Biogen. These aren’t speculative announcements — they’re active construction projects and hiring campaigns that are reshaping the Triangle’s economy in real time.
Here’s what’s actually happening on the ground in 2025 and 2026.
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Position based on tenant type: Tech-serving property? Local-serving retail? Office? Each has different pricing multiples and buyer motivations. -
Document tech company presence and expansion: Which companies are near you? What are their expansion plans? Investment commitments? That validates local demand. -
Track office market dynamics: If you own office, monitor market rents, occupancy, and new construction pipeline. Tech demand is changing office market fundamentally. -
Understand your proximity advantage: Are you near a major tech campus? That proximity drives tenant quality and pricing.
The big players
| Company | Investment | Jobs | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple | $1B | 3,000 | East Coast campus in Research Triangle Park |
| $1B | 1,000 | Engineering hub and cloud operations center | |
| Barclays | $300M+ | 1,500 | Relocating Americas operations to North Hills |
| Biogen | $2B | 725 | Major expansion at Research Triangle Park |
| Aspida Financial | $50M+ | 1,000 | New headquarters in Durham |
| flyExclusive | — | 200+ | Headquarters at North Hills complex |
That’s over $4.3 billion in committed investment from just six companies. And over 7,400 planned jobs. Those aren’t warehouse jobs either. Apple’s average salary for the RTP campus is reportedly north of $180,000. Barclays is bringing banking and technology roles. Biogen is pharmaceutical research. The wage profile of these jobs is staggering.
Supports stronger pricing
- Proximity to Apple, Meta, IBM, or other major tech campuses
- Office space in tech-dominated corridors
- Service retail (lunch, coffee, fitness, professional services)
- Technology-worker housing with nearby amenities
- Positioned for tech supply chain or service providers
Gives buyers leverage
- Property positioned only for declining or aging employer base
- Generic retail with no tech-adjacent positioning
- Isolated from tech corridors and employment centers
- Over-reliance on single tenant or narrow industry
- Office space with outdated amenities or operational limitations
Why the Triangle keeps winning
Three universities within 30 miles of each other. Duke, NC State, UNC Chapel Hill. That’s the engine. Every tech company I talk to says the same thing: the talent pipeline is why they’re here.
But it goes beyond that. North Carolina’s 2.5% corporate tax rate (dropping toward zero) makes the CFO happy. Housing costs that are 40-60% below the Bay Area make the employees happy. Direct flights from RDU to major tech hubs make the executives happy. It’s a package deal.
The state also invested heavily in incentives. NC’s Economic Development Partnership recorded over 35,000 new jobs and $24 billion in investment statewide in 2025. The Triangle captured roughly 4,000 of those jobs directly, plus thousands more in the surrounding counties.
What it means for commercial real estate
Here’s where it gets real for property owners. Apple’s campus alone will need supporting services, restaurants, retail, storage — all within commuting distance. When 3,000 tech workers show up making $180K, they change the entire submarket.
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The Raleigh industrial market is seeing this play out already. Distribution and logistics facilities are filling up to support the growing population. Data centers are consuming land and power. Lab and R&D space around RTP is in demand from biotech and pharma companies following Biogen’s lead.
And self-storage in the Triangle benefits from the constant churn of relocating workers. When thousands of people are moving in from California, New York, and Boston, they need somewhere to put their stuff while they figure out the housing market here.
The bigger picture
The Triangle has over 4,000 planned jobs in active pipelines right now. That doesn’t count the secondary jobs created by all those tech workers spending money. Economists typically estimate a 3-to-1 multiplier for high-wage tech jobs — meaning every Apple engineer supports three additional service-sector jobs.
If you own commercial property in the Raleigh-Durham market, these growth drivers are directly supporting your property’s value. Buyer demand is strong because the fundamentals are strong. And the fundamentals are getting stronger.
Seller takeaway
Raleigh-Durham’s tech transformation is accelerating. If you own office, retail, land, or service-oriented commercial in the Triangle, Roth Capital understands how to position it for tech-driven buyer demand. Call 704-600-3839.
Want to know what your property is worth in this market? Call me. 704-600-3839.
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