May CRE Sales Hit $42B on 205% M&A Surge as Single-Asset Deals Fall 4%
U.S. commercial real estate transaction volume totaled $42B in May, up 15% year-over-year, driven by $6.8B in portfolio M&A while single-asset deals slipped 4%, according to MSCI data. The slowdown raises concerns about Q2 volumes falling below expectations.
U.S. commercial real estate transaction volume totaled $42B in May, up 15% year-over-year, driven by $6.8B in mergers and portfolio deals that surged 205% while single-asset deal flow slipped 4%, according to MSCI data reported Wednesday [1]. The weakness in individual asset sales also emerged in April, reversing the 27% increase tracked across the first quarter and setting the stage for second-quarter totals to fall below expectations [1].
JPMorgan Chase analysts attributed the slowdown to macroeconomic shocks, writing that the correlation between interest rate moves at the start of the U.S.-Iran conflict and the typical two-to-four-month timeline for CRE closings suggests "there was a pause in the market" [1]. Portfolio deals offset a 41% decline in office sales and a 46% decline in development site deals, while senior housing, apartment, and industrial sales volumes each climbed at least 30% in May [1].
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