The total value of commercial property sales in April was $39.4 billion. That was the lowest amount since February of 2021.
Eight of the 10 major cities with the biggest drop in office occupancy during the pandemic had an average one-way commute of more than 30 minutes. Meanwhile, six of the 10 cities with the smallest drop in office occupancy have average commutes of less than 30 minutes.
The annual volume of rental-apartment purchases almost doubled between 2019 and 2021. In the first quarter of 2022, investors spent $63 billion on apartment buildings, the highest figure on record.
Originations at the 50 largest lenders fell 41% in the first quarter from a year earlier, with total mortgage volume expected to fall 37% for all of 2022.
Scarce inventory and mortgage rates topping 5% have combined with steep prices to yank sales activity back to where it was before the boom. April’s seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.61 million was the lowest rate since June 2020.
Apartment rents have soared 58% in the Miami area over the past two years.
U.S. equity fund allocations to real estate, a guide for sentiment among professional money managers, have fallen to 2.4%, from 3.1% before the pandemic. Meanwhile, inflows into listed real-estate funds, a better proxy for attitudes among retail investors, are increasing.
Blackstone said it has reached a deal to buy PS Business for about $7.6 billion, including debt. PSB, a real-estate investment trust, owns and operates industrial and low-rise suburban offices and business parks, mostly in California, Miami, Texas and Northern Virginia. As of March 30, the company owned 96 properties with 4,900 tenants. The company’s portfolio also includes 800 residential units.
Warehouse rental rates increased 15.2% annually across the U.S. in Q1 of 2022.