Crexi National Commercial Real Estate Report: January 2024

Overall National Sales Trends

What the Data Says

• January started the investment sales year with a bang, posting a 12.26% jump in the average asking price for new assets added to Crexi last month.
  
• We also observed a 79.9% occupancy rate, up approximately 3% from the previous month and the highest on Crexi’s platform since November 2022.

Asset Type Trends

• We observed hearty growth across asset classes, but the best gains came from retail, with average asking prices up 16% MoM and a 5% increase in average occupancy for new assets. 
• Industrial and multifamily were both strong performers last month, up 8.3% and 12.5%, respectively, with the latter’s occupancy up 4%. Industrial’s average occupancy for new listings dropped 3%, likely due to new, as-of-yet unabsorbed space coming online. 
• Office average asking prices dipped slightly, down over 3% from December metrics, alongside dipping occupancy for new assets, which averaged 60% in January . 

Key Takeaways

• Industrial pricing was down last month, but long-term demand for the sector is healthy. A forecast of growing e-commerce, continued demand for domestic manufacturing and supply chain/logistics facilities, as well as new concepts like refrigeration storage and data centers are keeping industrial alive and well. Despite new construction arrivals, many markets are supply-constrained, which will only grow as development costs and interest rates stay higher for longer.
• In the office sector, we also observed a decrease in unpriced listings on the platform in January, likely as more office owners seek to hurriedly get deals further through the negotiation stage of the process. Sector performance is highly market-specific and will fluctuate as the market grapples with how to implement hybrid work policies.

Overall National Leasing Trends

What the Data Says

• January represented another month of incremental asking rates rising by only 1%, about on par with December’s growth.
  
• In the same period, we observed a rebound of leasing inventory. January’s new leasing listings returned to November metrics, representing a healthy start to the year from a supply perspective.

Asset Type Trends

• Office posted hopeful gains last month, with average asking rates up 2.6%, representing the highest climb in leasing assets overall in January.
• Retail barely budged in its average asking rates, partly due to the admirable jump in average occupancy keeping things competitive among tenants. Restaurants, conversely, saw modest gains far less than the 10% jump in asking rates from November to December.

Key Takeaways

• While office sales have faced strong headwinds, average asking rents have only dipped 0.6% since January 2023. This suggests that rates have reached their trough, with upcoming trends like returning to amenity-rich Class A units driving the incremental gains seen above. In the same period, occupancy averages on newly listed office units rose 2%, suggesting that some tenant demand precariously trickled back to the sector.
• Upward-trending consumer sentiment and retail resilience, particularly as e-commerce continues to integrate with the sector, spell positive news for ongoing leasing demand, despite month-over-month stagnancy. On a yearly basis, rents were up 2.5% for the retail sector.

Highest Asking Price by MSA — January 2024

Disclaimer: This article's information is based on Crexi's internal marketplace data and additional external sources. While asking price in many ways reflects market conditions, variations in pricing are affected by changes in inventory, asset size, etc. Nothing contained on this website is intended to be construed as investing advice. Any reference to an investment's past or potential performance should not be construed as a recommendation or guarantee towards a specific outcome.

Get more data-driven insights with Crexi Intelligence.