Commercial real estate activity bounceback in Q2

There was a rebound in commercial estate transactional activity in the second quarter of 2017 following a plunge in the first three months of the year

Commercial real estate activity bounceback in Q2
There was a rebound in commercial estate transactional activity in the second quarter of 2017 following a plunge in the first three months of the year.

The latest commercial real estate volume and pricing trends report from Ten-X reveals overall transaction volume up 15.6% quarter over quarter to $105 billion according to Real Capital Analytics.

Every sector except for retail saw an increase, but while overall volume was higher it remained below its cyclical peak and down 4.5% from Q2 2016.

"After hitting a post-election pause button, the industry seems to have digested and even shrugged off a flurry of policy announcements, concluding that many of the previously touted reforms will not be implemented," said Ten-X Chief Economist Peter Muoio.

He added that commercial real estate investors are assuming that the US economy will continue to grow and are not deterred by the potential for further increases in interest rates.

While the retail sector continued to contract – accounting for just 13% of overall transaction volume in Q2 2017 – the others, apartment, office and industrial outperformed their 10-year total dollar volume averages during the quarter.

The Ten-X All Property Nowcast, which gauges national pricing through a combination of proprietary and third-party data, reveals pricing has now declined for four consecutive months but year-over-year is up 5.8%.