Crexi National Commercial Real Estate Report: January 2021

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Welcome to the January 2021 edition of our monthly Crexi Trends roundup. Each month, we examine Crexi’s database to piece out relevant data and patterns and share key insights with our readers. 

This report focuses on trends found in Crexi’s CRE marketplace listings in January, evaluating average price per square foot, search behavior, occupancy, and other notable metrics. With this data in hand, we hope to provide principles, tenants, and brokers alike with actionable understandings to make well-informed commercial real estate decisions

Chart of January's average prices per square foot for asset types on Crexi

Average Asking Price per Square Foot and Changes Month-over-Month

Overall occupancy levels continue to rebound from 2020 lows.

All asset classes (except for multifamily) saw occupancy levels rise in the first month of the year. These numbers point to positive signs ahead for previously struggling property types, particularly for retail office assets, as more and more buildings see their tenants return to the workplace. Office properties saw occupancy rates grow by 3.4% in January, continuing their recovery from November 2020 lows.

Pricing patterns diverge across asset types.

Industrial properties for sale ended their pricing slump, finally seeing gains after experiencing downward movement since November 2020. 

Multifamily prices continued to climb in January, rising by 7.33% and maintaining the growth it had experienced since early Q4 last year. However, the new listings hitting the market reveal dropping occupancy levels: on Crexi, average occupancy for new multifamily properties fell 2.8%, bucking the overall trend. 

Office properties saw the most significant jump in pricing, with the average asking price per square foot jumping 12.35% from December to January. 

New retail listings across both sales and lease experienced negative pricing pressures in January. Sales listings saw a more modest 3.46% decrease, while lease listings saw a more than 15% decrease from December rates. 

January sees buyers seeking sunny weather and Florida commercial property.

January was a big month for Florida searches. Miami, Orlando, and Tampa all experienced noticeable increases in buyers seeking commercial property for sale compared to previous months, growing by 28%, 30%, and 33%, respectively. 

This surge represents a larger national trend in property seekers. Investors and tenants alike are looking to thriving Sunbelt cities with business-friendly tax policies as vehicles for new commercial real estate investments. 

Properties for lease surge in availability while rates decline.

January witnessed a surge of for-lease properties newly listed on Crexi, with industrial, office, and retail assets nearly doubling their inventory month-over-month. At the same time, average asking rates per month saw a sharp overall decrease from December numbers — this decrease was more exaggerated than any monthly decline occurring in 2020.

Industrial assets for lease helped keep overall rates on Crexi from a less dramatic drop. The asset class experienced a 4.5% increase in average asking prices per square foot as twice as many listings were added to Crexi compared to the previous month. In particular, warehouses represented a big draw for searching tenants: the amount new assets in the of subtype grew by 104.5% compared to December numbers.

Highest Average Asking Price per Square Foot By State — January 2020

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.

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Crexi Insights
Crexi Insights

Marketing Team at Crexi

Crexi makes CRE easy by consolidating the entire commercial real estate process into a single ecosystem.

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