We’re proud to present our December 2021 Crexi Trends report. Every month, we crawl our platform’s database to discover and analyze relevant trends to curate the most actionable insights for our readers.
December’s report identifies patterns observed across Crexi’s commercial real estate listings in average price per square foot, search behavior, occupancy, and other relevant metrics. With this research, we seek to provide investors, tenants, and brokers with the insights they need to make well-informed investing decisions.
Average Asking Price per Square Foot in December and Changes Month-over-Month
The sleepier holiday season coincides with price drops in December.
Last month, the average asking price per square foot for new assets on Crexi dropped somewhat, down 4.27% compared to averages the previous month. Despite this drop however, December’s numbers finished the month at levels on par with Q3’s pricing averages. This points to a promising revitalization of the marketplace as brokers and sellers emerge from the holiday season to hit the ground running in the new year.
Multifamily and Office pricing intertwined as Omicron threatens to extend work-from-home policies.
Multifamily and office assets presented a picture of interplaying dynamics on Crexi in December.
New multifamily properties for sale in December saw average asking price gains of nearly 5.7%. This coincided with surging rates of Omicron COVID-19 cases during holiday travels, pushing office reopening plans and driving up occupant interest in roomy, Class A multifamily homes.
In the same period, office asking prices declined 5.3%, as businesses adapted their return to work / hybrid work plans. However, office owners are still bullish on their assets. Space is still getting acquired: occupancy averages for new listings jumped 3% up from November with practically no change in the number of unpriced listings.
Industrial and Retail show pricing correction, offsetting gains from Q4.
Both industrial and retail experienced a decline in average asking price in December. Industrial assets listed in the month posted an 8.54% drop in average asking prices, offsetting most of the gains made in Q4. However, these numbers still represent some of the highest on Crexi’s platform.
Retail also dropped 7.75%, returning to average asking prices last seen in July 2021. Occupancy averages for retail also dipped a slight 3.4% in December, but sellers seemed unfazed, as the number of unpriced listings added in the month dropped in the same period.
Restaurant and Retail property for lease show optimistic jumps in average asking rates.
On the leasing side of the Crexi platform, restaurants and retail saw promising gains in average asking rates. Restaurants climbed up 16.7% in December, even as fewer assets came online than the previous month. Based on this, we can assume that newer or higher-class facilities entered the market in December, poised for visibility in Q1 2022.
Retail also experienced impressive rate gains, jumping up 10% from November’s average asking rates and breaking records for the highest retail asking rates seen on Crexi.
Searches slightly decline during December, with Texas metros holding the top spots.
Overall, we observed a decrease in property searches on both the sales and leasing sides of the platform due to the general pause associated with the holiday months. However, buyers and tenants were still looking for assets: Houston and Dallas held top spots for for-sale listings, while Houston and Omaha ranked highest for actively-seeking tenants.
In the same period, New York property for sale and Chicago spaces for lease each experienced dramatic dips in searches, down 27.7% and 32.5%, respectively, and likely due to the Omicron outbreaks that gripped both cities in December.
Highest Average Asking Price per Square Foot By State — December 2021
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.
