Real estate investors are eyeing opportunities in the space exploration sector as companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin push for lunar and Martian colonization. Hines recently acquired a 250,000-square-foot industrial property in Florida’s Space Coast submarket, fully leased to aerospace tenants, to capitalize on the boom in space exploration’s real estate needs.

Companies like Hines and Ethos are building out space-support infrastructure for the outer space real estate race. David Steinbach, global chief investment officer at Hines, highlights the industry revolution, with a focus on infrastructure support on Earth and real estate development for manufacturing on the moon, already underway.

Unlimited power, cooling, and real estate in space make data centers a key focus. Companies are developing technology for construction on the moon, including 3D printing and moon-based cement. Ethos CEO Ross Centers envisions a new world waiting to be developed, turning moon resources into landing pads, roads, and foundations for data centers and industrial facilities.

Industrial warehouses on Earth will still play a role in serving the space economy, providing capacity for transporting goods into space and space-driven manufacturing. However, the warehouse sector is softening, with rising vacancy rates due to tariff uncertainty. More development and capital are needed to support the space real estate race, but higher interest rates are a barrier.

Read more at CNBC: Real estate firms race to put data centers on the moon, build space support