Midsized Deals Drive 28% Surge In CRE Transaction Activity

The federal government was shut down for the entirety of October, but that didn’t keep commercial real estate players from closing deals they had in the pipeline.

There were $34.6B worth of “major” commercial real estate transactions finalized last month, up 28% from September, according to a report from CRE data analytics firm LightBox.

October had an increase in the volume of midcap deals — those between $50M and $100M — which had a collective price tag of $6.6B. LightBox counted 94 midcap transactions, up from 87 in September and well above the year-to-date average of 65, according to a spokesperson. 

The number of deals closed above $100M fell from 58 in September to 52 in October, which was still above the year's average of 44. 

The stats point to “a more balanced market environment,” LightBox head of data strategy Manus Clancy said in a statement.

“With activity picking up across multiple sectors, confidence among lenders and investors continues to build as the year winds down,” he said.

Despite the surge in deals closing, the picture isn't entirely rosy. LightBox also updated its CRE Activity Index, a more forward-looking indicator of future deals that factors in property listings and appraisal volumes. 

The index fell from 116.8 in September to 106.2 in October. LightBox’s report attributed this to the government shutdown, which reached a record 43 days before ending earlier this month. 

Multifamily properties accounted for 24% of last month’s deals, while office and retail made up 21% and 20%, respectively, according to LightBox. Land sales made up 11% of transactions in October, up 8% month over month. 

Medical buildings and data centers also made a big splash.

The largest deal — by a wide margin — was Remedy Medical Properties and Kayne Anderson Real Estate’s $7.2B acquisition of 296 outpatient medical facilities across 34 states from Welltower Inc. The portfolio was 94% leased at the time of the sale. 

Another of the month's largest deals was CentreSquare spending $1B on 10 data center sites across the U.S. and Canada, including locations in Dallas, Nashville and Toronto. The data center operator backed by Brookfield Infrastructure Partners now has 80 sites.