How to Spot Undervalued CRE Assets with Comps and Market Trends

Key Takeaways

• Undervalued commercial real estate assets often hide in plain sight - the key is knowing how to read beyond the numbers.
• Comparing comps with current market trends helps reveal which assets are truly mispriced.
• A clear, data-driven process gives investors and brokers more confidence in spotting real opportunities.

When the last three retail comps are over six months old, and interest rates have dropped twice since, how do you price today’s deals? In today’s market, it takes more than luck. Many properties are priced above fair market value, but hidden gems still exist. These mispriced assets can offer strong returns - if you know how to identify them. The secret is to look beyond basic comps and pay attention to broader trends. 

By combining comparable sales with real-time data, you can uncover undervalued commercial real estate before the rest of the market catches on. Tools like Crexi’s Market Reports, Property Records & Comps, and Insights dashboards make it easier to connect the dots, turning numbers into actionable insight.

Why Comps Alone Aren’t Enough

Using comparables to value CRE assets is a critical part of any deal. However, it only tells part of the story. Comps show what similar properties have sold or leased for, yet they can quickly grow outdated in a market that shifts month to month. When deal volume slows, comp relevancy can drop dramatically, and even small property differences can throw off valuations.

Two office buildings may look identical on paper but differ in lease terms, tenant credit, or who covered tenant improvements. One might have months of free rent baked in, while another has years left on a steady NNN lease. Critical details like the $15 PSF in TI allowances, 6-month rent abatement, or 2% annual escalations are buried in deal terms that are hard to capture. The only way to understand them is by talking to property managers, tenants, or brokers who know the deal details firsthand.

That’s why comps should never stand alone. To truly understand value, investors and brokers need to pair comparables with live market trends, macro-level data, and property-specific insights. This layered approach provides the full picture. As a result, you can pinpoint real value and avoid being misled by incomplete numbers.

Understanding Key Market Trends to Watch

When you’re looking for undervalued commercial real estate, observing current market conditions is just as important as digging through transaction records. Market trends in commercial real estate in 2025 show big shifts in asset types, financing, and supply and demand. 

For investors and analysts, those changes can hint at hidden opportunities. Even slight interest rate cuts this year hint at shifting conditions, reminding investors that pricing dynamics can change quickly.

Here are some of the most important trend metrics to track:

• Inventory changes: Watch how much new space is coming onto the market. Then, compare it to how much is being leased or sold to see if supply is growing faster than demand.
• Rent vs. asking-price spread: Check whether rent growth is keeping up with sale prices. If rents are rising but prices aren’t, that could signal hidden value.
• Days on market: See how long listings are staying active. A shorter timeline often means stronger demand, while longer ones can point to overpricing.
• Asking cap rate vs. sale cap rates: Compare what sellers expect with what deals actually close for. A wide gap can reveal either overvalued assets or underpriced opportunities.

When market patterns and comps don’t line up, it’s often worth a closer look. Staying tuned to the latest reports and headlines - like shifts in retail foot traffic or logistics demand - can show where those gaps are forming in real time. For instance, in retail, national vacancy rates have risen slightly while asking rents have stayed strong. That contrast suggests well-located properties may be below market value, even as weaker ones struggle. 

The same goes for markets where rent growth is climbing but sale prices haven’t caught up yet. Watching for these gaps helps investors find real value before the rest of the market catches on.

The Comps Playbook — What to Look For

When you’re using comparables to value CRE assets, precision matters. A solid comp set gives you the clearest picture of what buyers are really paying, and what might be mispriced. But accuracy depends on more than pulling the first few results that look close. You need to look deeper at each property’s fundamentals and context.

Start by comparing key details across every comp:

• Transaction date recency. The market changes fast. Focus on recent sales or leases so your analysis reflects today’s pricing.
• Price per square foot. This helps you benchmark value quickly across similar buildings.
• NOI, cap rate, and operating expenses. These numbers reveal how efficiently a property performs relative to peers.
• Asset class, property class (A/B/C), and lease terms. Details like who pays expenses, free rent periods, or tenant improvements can make a big difference.
• Adjustments for differences. Always account for size, location, and age so you’re comparing apples to apples.

Comps are most useful when they’re hyper-local, within 1-5 square miles if possible. Instead of relying on broad metro averages, focus on submarkets where rents, demand, and tenant mixes behave more consistently. Even a property being on a different side of the street can impact valuation.

Crexi’s Property Records and Sales Comps tool helps you do this faster. It brings ownership details, transaction history, and market insights together in one view. So, you can see how assets truly stack up side-by-side. From there, you can export or refine your list to match the exact parameters that matter most to your deal.

Once you’ve built your foundation, platforms like Crexi Vault can take your analysis further. Vault lets you upload offering memorandums, rent rolls, and lease abstracts. Then, it automatically extracts key data points, covering everything from cap rates to occupancy. The result is a dynamic, searchable archive you can cross-reference against recent deals and property records. It’s a simple way to combine your own intel with live market intelligence, turning static documents into actionable insights.

Together, these tools give investors, brokers, and analysts a comprehensive strategy to locate CRE opportunities more effectively.

Signaling Undervaluation: Red Flags & Contrarian Cues

Spotting an undervalued property in commercial real estate often means paying attention to the details. Not every clue shows up in a data sheet or comp report. Sometimes the signs are small: an outdated sign, a tired building, or an owner ready to move on.

Frequent price drops or repeated listings can be early hints. These often show that the seller is losing confidence or motivation. A property that stays on the market for a long time, even with strong fundamentals like good tenants or location, can also be a sign of hidden value.

You can also compare asking prices to recent sales. If similar properties are closing for less, there may be room to negotiate. Or, if market sentiment feels negative but the local metrics (like rent growth or occupancy) looks stable, the numbers may tell a different story.

To dig deeper, layer your filters to get a clearer picture of what’s happening behind the listing:

• Start with ownership records to see who owns the property and how long they’ve held it. 
• Add lease expiration data to find buildings that may soon have vacancies. Owners in that position might be more willing to sell or renegotiate. 
• Then, include pre-foreclosure or CMBS data to spot financial stress that could motivate a sale.

By integrating these filters, you can focus on properties that are more likely to be below market value or ready to change hands.

Workflow: Spot, Validate, Grade

Finding an undervalued property in commercial real estate takes a mix of insights and process. Here’s a simple step-by-step workflow to follow:

1. Identify strong markets. Start with Market Reports to see where trends are shifting. Look at asking vs. sale cap rates, absorption, and inventory changes to spot areas showing early signs of value.

2. Pull comps and property records. Search and export recent comps in your target market using Crexi. Compare sale prices, lease terms, and ownership details to understand the local baseline.

3. Layer in trend data. Add rent growth, vacancy, and supply data to see where comparables might lag behind current market conditions. This helps you find places where values haven’t yet caught up to performance.

4. Adjust and test. Account for differences in property size, age, or location. Then, run quick sensitivity checks to see how interest rate or rent changes could affect returns.

5. Grade your opportunities. Rank each asset by potential upside versus risk. Focus on the ones that show a healthy spread compared to their peers.

Applying the Data: Where Demographics Drive CRE Growth

When traffic, population, and income trends line up, they can reveal markets with real staying power. 

Here are two cities where strong demographic signals are helping drive CRE growth:

Detroit, Michigan: Detroit is now growing again for the first time in decades. The economy is expanding into healthcare, finance, and tech. Also, the cost of living is below the national average. As a result, the city appeals to both residents and investors looking for long-term value.

• Median asking rental rate per square foot: $18 annually
• Median asking cap rate: 7.4%
• Median sold cap rate (past 12 months): 10.6%
• Household income growth rate: 11%

New Orleans, Louisiana: A cultural landmark and major Gulf port, New Orleans continues to rebuild and grow. The population is growing, and the median income is rising. Plus, there are new investments in healthcare and infrastructure. And now, it’s seeing renewed activity in its business districts.

• Median asking rental rate per square foot: $20 annually
• Median asking cap rate: 7.5%
• Median sold cap rate (past 12 months): 7.1%
• Household income growth rate: 21%

Using Crexi Intelligence to Spot Undervalued Assets

Crexi brings everything you need to evaluate commercial real estate into one platform. With all your data in one place, you can move faster and make smarter decisions.

• Market Reports Dashboard: Track asking vs. sale cap rates, inventory shifts, and absorption trends to find markets with upside potential.
• Property Records + Sales Comps: View ownership information, past transactions, and comps side by side for a complete picture of each asset.
• Export and Compare: Quickly filter and export property details or comp sets for deeper analysis or team sharing.
• Saved Searches and Alerts: Save your favorite comp searches and get alerts when new, relevant deals appear, so you can act before the competition does.

Case Examples / Scenarios

Seeing this strategy in action makes it easier to understand. Here are two quick examples of how investors use this approach to uncover off-the-radar assets.

Example 1: Retail Center with Rising Rents

An investor spots a small neighborhood retail center listed below recent sale prices. At first glance, the comps suggest it’s fairly priced. But when they review local trend data, they see rent growth climbing and vacancy dropping faster than the recent sales reflect. The investor realizes the property’s income potential is higher than it appears, and secures it before values adjust.

Example 2: Industrial Warehouse with Untapped Value

A broker reviews comps on an older warehouse that’s been sitting on the market for months. Vacancy in the submarket is tightening, and new construction has slowed. After checking Crexi’s Market Reports, they see asking rates rising nearby. With some light updates, the warehouse could command much higher rents, making it an undervalued CRE property.

The Bottom Line

High-value opportunities still exist; they just take sharper tools and a closer look to find. When the market story doesn’t match the numbers, that’s often where real value hides. By tapping into recent sales, property records, and market data, you can uncover deals others might miss.

Crexi’s Market Reports and unified Comps & Records tools make it simple to start your own search. Explore insights, test your assumptions, and see where the numbers point - your next great investment might already be waiting.