Until very recently, the national commercial real estate conversation was focused primarily on “the big six” cities: Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. These so-called 24-hour cities offered the best investment opportunities and therefore attracted the most attention. Today, though, the conversation has changed. Investors are looking beyond the big six to other large and midsized metros around the country. Dubbed 18-hour cities, they are having a moment in CRE, and developers are flooding into these markets to take advantage. Fueling this new gold rush is the fact that America’s three largest cities — New York, LA, and Chicago — are losing residents at an alarming rate. Recent census data indicates that 277 people are moving away from New York every day. Meanwhile, 18-hour city Dallas is welcoming an astounding 246 new residents daily. Why are 18-hour cities attracting so many residents? There are many factors, but I believe there are two main catalysts for this migration: 1. The cost of living in the big six cities is out of control. Click to read more at www.forbes.com.