Weekly Real Estate News
Cousins Properties raised its full-year earnings outlook Thursday after reporting stronger leasing and operating performance across its Sun Belt office portfolio, even as the wider office market continues to face uneven demand.
The Atlanta-based real estate investment trust announced its third-quarter results at 4:15 p.m. Eastern on October 29. The financial results cover the three months ended September 30, not transactions that all occurred on the announcement date. Its company announcement directs investors to its quarterly financial package; details are also provided in the company’s October 29 Form 8-K and attached earnings release.
Leasing and operating income improve
Cousins reported third-quarter net income available to common stockholders of $17 million, compared with $8.6 million a year earlier. Funds from operations, a widely used REIT performance measure, rose to $123.8 million, or 75 cents per share, from $116.5 million, or 69 cents per share.
Cash-basis same-property net operating income increased 7.4%. The company signed 546,000 square feet of office leases during the quarter, including 220,000 square feet of new and expansion leases. Cash-basis second-generation net rent per square foot increased 19.8%, according to its report.
Office sale reshapes Austin portfolio
During the third quarter, Cousins sold One Eleven Congress, a 519,000-square-foot office building in Austin, for a gross price of $208 million. The sale was a completed third-quarter transaction, not a newly signed October 29 agreement.
The company also acquired a preferred equity interest in the 199,000-square-foot 5th & Walsh office development in Austin. It expects to fund a $31.5 million commitment in the second half of 2027, with a stated 10% preferred return. Cousins additionally formed a joint venture involving a 2.3-acre site at 2401 McKinney in Uptown Dallas.
Higher guidance, with conditions
Cousins increased its 2026 funds-from-operations guidance to $2.95–$2.99 per share, from $2.92–$2.98. Management said better-than-expected leasing activity and fee income supported the revision. The forecast assumes a fourth-quarter sale of a land parcel at 303 Tremont and excludes speculative acquisitions and other unannounced deals.
The results offer a useful snapshot of performance at a landlord concentrated in higher-end Sun Belt offices, but they do not establish a broad recovery across all U.S. office properties. Conditions vary substantially by market, building quality and financing structure.
Simple Content Summary
Cousins Properties raised its 2026 FFO guidance after leasing 546,000 square feet of office space and reporting 7.4% cash-basis same-property NOI growth in the third quarter. The REIT also sold an Austin office property for $208 million during the quarter. The October 29 announcement highlights stronger performance in its Sun Belt office portfolio.
