Competition in capital markets is holding steady despite the growing number of properties on the market and an uncertain macroeconomic climate.

JLL’s Global Bid Intensity Index, which leverages internal data to offer a real-time view of liquidity dynamics, slipped by 40 basis points from October to January, a modest swing that the firm says reflects steady competition and a more normalized market ahead.

Buyer interest remains robust across all property types, with bidding competitiveness across the four primary sectors — multifamily, industrial, retail and office — converging to the narrowest spread in over three years, according to JLL.

The bid-ask spread of the winning bidder has generally narrowed since 2022, but variability continues to fluctuate, in part because of new buyers entering the market while core capital sources remain less active, according to JLL. A limited number of hotly contested properties on the market today is helping keep the bid intensity rating subdued.

"Even with more properties available for sale, investors are still competing just as fiercely. As demand grows more balanced across property types, we expect the healthy, active investment market will hold steady," JLL Capital Markets CEO Richard Bloxam said in a statement.

Multifamily assets have been and continue to be the most competitive, bolstered by strong capital availability even as rent growth cools nationally and is negative in some major markets that saw a glut of pandemic-era development.

Bidding for industrial and logistics assets accelerated in the second half of 2025, and the office market is improving, with buyers and lenders returning to the sector they spurned while companies struggled to drag workers back to the office.

Retail is more of a mixed bag, according to JLL, with liquidity deepening for specific asset types but some softening in overall bidding as more transactions close.

Commercial real estate is well-positioned to absorb disruption from the escalating conflict in the Middle East thanks to strong property sector fundamentals, consensus around central banks and a more settled interest rate environment, Bloxam said.

“While the current conflict in the Middle East introduces significant uncertainty, the global economy is better placed to absorb shocks than it has been in recent years — providing a meaningful buffer under a short-conflict scenario,” he said.

Commercial real estate trades were up by both asset and dollar volumes in 2025, with Altus Group and Reonomy tracking 176,445 sales, up 0.6% from the prior year. Dollar volumes grew by 14.4% to $560.2B, the second consecutive year of growth.

Prices were up 12.1% year-over-year across all property types, with retail up 13.4% and multifamily properties pricing rising by 12.4%.

“While the Middle East conflict has the potential to lead to a further market uncertainty, given the generally healthy economic fundamentals, we anticipate an intensifying capital markets liquidity cycle in 2026,” Bloxam said.