A Steel Standard, A Shift for Real Estate

Between 2019 and mid-2026, the leading commercial real estate markets across northern, central and Bajío Mexico added more than 40 million square meters of industrial, office and retail space. According to a SiiLA estimate based on technical coefficients commonly used in structural engineering, their construction would have required approximately 1.8 million metric tons of structural steel.¹

Although that represents roughly 1% of Mexico’s annual consumption of finished steel products, it forms part of the demand that supports the country’s steel supply chain, from steel production to the manufacturing and distribution of structural components.

Against that backdrop, the phased implementation of NOM-251-SE-2025 begins this week. The standard establishes a uniform framework for demonstrating compliance with the technical specifications applicable to various steel products used in construction. Its objective is to ensure quality, safety, performance and reliability by incorporating certification, testing, sampling and oversight procedures throughout the supply chain.

For developers and contractors, the primary impact lies in supplier selection. Although the standard regulates manufacturers, importers and distributors of specific steel products, compliance becomes an additional criterion in construction material procurement. That is particularly relevant given that, according to Mexico’s National Chamber of the Iron and Steel Industry (CANACERO), imported finished steel products account for more than 40% of the domestic market. As a result, a significant share of the steel supplied to the construction sector will also have to meet the new requirements before reaching the market, with any effects on costs and supply lead times becoming clearer only as implementation progresses.

However, the relationship between the steel industry and commercial real estate extends beyond supplying construction materials. The manufacturers, importers and distributors covered by the standard are part of an industry that also occupies industrial and office space for production, processing, distribution and administrative operations. As a result, the regulation takes effect within a sector that already has a significant physical presence across Mexico’s leading commercial real estate markets.

According to SiiLA, nearly 140 companies linked to the steel industry occupy more than 2.2 million square meters of industrial and office space across Mexico’s leading commercial real estate markets. While together they account for roughly 2.5% of occupied inventory across both segments, they represent about 65% of the mining and metals sector’s occupied industrial space and 41% of its office footprint, concentrating a substantial share of the real estate activity associated with the industry.

The composition of that footprint also reflects the industry’s international profile. SiiLA data show that about 39% of steel-related companies operating in Mexico’s leading commercial real estate markets are domestic, while the remainder are foreign-owned. As a result, the scope of the standard extends beyond domestic production to a significant portion of the steel products entering the country to supply the construction sector.

For now, and over the next 18 months, as NOM-251-SE-2025 continues to be phased in, the market will be able to observe how a technical regulation extends beyond the steel industry itself and reaches real estate development from a stage that is rarely examined: when buildings do not yet exist and begin as steel.

Learn more about the trends shaping commercial real estate in Mexico at SiiLA Market Analytics or contact us at contacto@siila.com.mx.

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¹ SiiLA estimate based on 40.4 million square meters of gross leasable area (GLA) of industrial, office and retail properties delivered between Q1 2019 and Q2 2026 across the leading markets of northern, central and Bajío Mexico. Structural steel content was estimated using typical steel consumption coefficients per square meter for each property type, based on technical ranges reported in specialized literature on structural engineering and steel construction. The coefficients used were 45 kg/m² for industrial buildings, 60 kg/m² for office buildings and 45 kg/m² for retail centers. The resulting estimate totals approximately 1.8 million metric tons of structural steel. These figures represent order-of-magnitude estimates for typical buildings and may vary depending on structural design, number of stories, design loads and applicable regulatory requirements. Methodological references: Steel Construction Institute (SCI); British Constructional Steelwork Association (BCSA); SteelConstruction.info; Journal of Cleaner Production.