Dallas was the top U.S. commercial property market during COVID Dallas led in construction and was second for commercial real estate investments. Most of the Dallas-area construction starts were for industrial and apartment buildings.(Brian Elledge / Staff Photographer) Dallas was the country’s top construction market during the pandemic and the area had the second-highest property investment total in the nation in the first quarter, according to a new report by Real Capital Analytics Inc. “Dallas is booming,” Real Capital said in its latest quarterly report. “Not only was it the leading market for construction activity in 2019, but the market kept this position into the COVID-19 era.