Highwoods Properties (HIW) | Hoya Hotseat

July 2, 2026 | Hoya Capital

Highwoods Properties (HIW) | Hoya Hotseat 2026-07-02 Highwoods Properties (HIW) is a Raleigh-based office REIT with roughly 28 million square feet of owned properties, focused on high-quality office assets in what it calls the “Best Business Districts” across Sun Belt markets. Founded in 1978 and public since 1994, Highwoods went public during the modern REIT era to expand beyond its Raleigh roots and grow throughout the Southeast, using the public REIT structure to access capital, maintain an infinite-life investment vehicle, and impose discipline around capital allocation.

CFO Brendan Maiorana joins the Hoya Hotseat to discuss Highwoods’ strategy, highlighting the company’s focus on business-friendly Sun Belt markets with above-average population and job growth, as well as its active capital recycling approach across acquisitions, dispositions, and development. Maiorana outlines the office sector bull thesis: demand for high-quality office space has remained steady, new supply has been sharply limited by reduced capital flows into the sector, and select markets such as Dallas and Charlotte are already seeing rent spikes as availability tightens for well-capitalized landlords.

Maiorana also addresses key risks facing office REITs, including hybrid work, AI-driven concerns around white-collar job demand, and perceptions of Sun Belt exposure to administrative functions, while emphasizing Highwoods’ concentration in front-office users, low leverage, supported dividend, and potential for attractive long-term compounded returns without relying on valuation improvement. About Hoya Capital Hoya Capital Real Estate ("Hoya Capital") is a research-focused Registered Investment Advisor headquartered in Rowayton, Connecticut. Founded with a mission to make real estate more accessible to all investors, Hoya Capital specializes in managing institutional and individual portfolios of publicly traded real estate securities, focused on delivering sustainable income, diversification, and attractive total returns.

Focused on Real Assets, REITs, Dividend Growth, High Yield, & ETFs. For more information, visit www.HoyaCapital.com. Transcript We are Highwoods Properties. We're headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. Our We're an office REIT. We have about 28 million square feet of owned properties. ...