Highwoods Properties (HIW) Stock Forecast: What Could Drive It in 2026
Last updated July 2026
Short answer
What is actually driving Highwoods Properties (HIW) right now is Sun Belt flight-to-quality: HIW concentrates in high-growth Southern BBDs where population and job migration support office demand better than gateway coastal markets. Revenue (TTM) is ~$840M. If that keeps playing out, the setup is favourable; the risk to it is office remains the most challenged commercial real estate sector, with hybrid work and corporate downsizing pressuring long-term demand and occupancy. No one can predict where HIW trades, and Walnut does not publish targets, so treat this as a scenario, not a price target or prediction.
What could drive Highwoods Properties (HIW) higher?
1. Sun Belt flight-to-quality
HIW concentrates in high-growth Southern BBDs where population and job migration support office demand better than gateway coastal markets. Its newer, amenitized buildings are positioned to capture tenants trading up from older stock. Management guides for roughly 200 basis points of occupancy gains from end-2025 into 2026.
2. Rent growth and leasing momentum
The company signed 958,000 square feet of second-generation leases in Q1 2026 at GAAP rent growth near 19% on those deals, and average in-place cash rents rose about 2.2% year over year. This pricing power helps offset elevated concessions and re-leasing costs common across the office sector.
3. Development and capital recycling
HIW places well-leased development into service (recent projects delivered around 87% leased) while selling non-core, older assets to fund higher-quality investments in Dallas and Raleigh. Executed carefully, this upgrades portfolio quality and can lift long-run FFO per share.
4. High, covered dividend
The roughly $2.00 annualized dividend yields well above the broad market and is supported by FFO, giving investors income while the leasing recovery plays out. A stable payout underpins the total-return case even if price appreciation is slow.
What could weigh on HIW?
Office remains the most challenged commercial real estate sector, with hybrid work and corporate downsizing pressuring long-term demand and occupancy. HIW carries meaningful leverage (long-term debt in the billions, debt-to-EBITDA in the low-to-mid 6s), so higher-for-longer interest rates raise refinancing costs and weigh on the stock. Occupancy sits in the upper-80s rather than the mid-90s, leaving vacancy risk, and elevated tenant improvement and leasing-commission costs can pressure free cash flow. A weaker economy or a Sun Belt supply glut could stall the recovery, and any dividend concern would hit the shares hard.
Where HIW trades today
A forecast starts from where the stock actually is. These are HIW's current figures, not a projection: the drivers and risks above are what would move them.
Snapshot for HIW as of July 2026, sourced from Yahoo Finance and may be delayed. Valuation figures move with price and earnings; verify the current numbers with your broker before deciding.
How to think about a HIW forecast
Rather than chasing a price target, it tends to help to weigh the drivers above against the risks, decide how long you are willing to hold, and size the position so a wrong call is survivable. A “forecast” is really a probability-weighted view of those drivers playing out, not a number.
For the full picture, see the HIW guide and whether HIW is a buy. In Walnut you can pressure-test the thesis against your real portfolio.
The bottom line on the HIW outlook
The bottom line: what is driving Highwoods Properties (HIW) is Sun Belt flight-to-quality, with revenue (ttm) at ~$840M. If that keeps playing out the setup is favourable; the risk is office remains the most challenged commercial real estate sector, with hybrid work and corporate downsizing pressuring long-term demand and occupancy. No one can predict the price, so treat any HIW forecast as a scenario, not a target or prediction, and decide from your own thesis and time horizon. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
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FAQ
What is the forecast for Highwoods Properties (HIW)?
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No one can reliably predict where HIW will trade, and Walnut does not publish price targets. What is more useful is the setup: the drivers that could push Highwoods Properties higher and the risks that could weigh on it. This page lays out both so you can form your own view. Not a recommendation.
What could drive HIW higher?
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The main growth drivers are Sun Belt flight-to-quality; Rent growth and leasing momentum; Development and capital recycling. Whether they play out is the real question, not a guaranteed path.
What are the risks to HIW?
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Office remains the most challenged commercial real estate sector, with hybrid work and corporate downsizing pressuring long-term demand and occupancy. HIW carries meaningful leverage (long-term debt in the billions, debt-to-EBITDA in the low-to-mid 6s), so higher-for-longer interest rates raise refinancing costs and weigh on the stock. Occupancy sits in the upper-80s rather than the mid-90s, leaving vacancy risk, and elevated tenant improvement and leasing-commission costs can pressure free cash flow. A weaker economy or a Sun Belt supply glut could stall the recovery, and any dividend concern would hit the shares hard.
Will HIW stock go up in 2026?
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Nobody knows, and anyone who says they do is guessing. Highwoods Properties's direction depends on whether the drivers above outweigh the risks, plus the broader market. Focus on the thesis and your time horizon rather than a single-year call.
Is HIW a buy?
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That depends on your thesis, time horizon, and what you already own, not on a forecast. See the HIW "is it a buy?" page for a framework. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
How did Highwoods perform in Q1 2026?
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It reported FFO of about $0.84 per share, roughly flat year over year, and rental revenue of about $214 million, up nearly 7%. Leasing was strong, with GAAP rent growth near 19% on second-generation renewals.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. This page describes drivers and risks; it is not a price forecast, target, or recommendation. Markets are uncertain and past performance does not predict future results.