Washington D.C. Still Leads Recovery

Washington D.C. remained the leader among major U.S. markets in commercial real estate pricing recovery in 2010. The region posted a 5 percent increase in the fourth quarter last year. More specifically, commercial property pricing in that area gained 15 percent for the year and 19 percent since its market low.

Real Estate overall still is very unstable whether positive or negative, so there is not a lot that can be taken away by either positive or negative percentages. Co-Star Group reported today in the Washington Post, that D.C. gained where the other major markets lost a little bit.

1. Commercial property pricing in New York declined 2 percent in the fourth quarter, after the three previous quarters all saw increases.
2. New York commercial property pricing has increased 6 percent above its market low.
3. Chicago, San Francisco, and Atlanta all experienced declines in commercial property pricing.
4. Chicago, San Francisco, and Atlanta have not posted a positive quarter than the previous, thus still searching for a market bottom.
5. Los Angeles had it’s first pricing increase since 2008 with its fourth quarter, up a meager 1 percent.

Pricing for commercial property sales in the top 10 largest markets is recovering much more strongly than the residential and general market, with the strong exception of retail.

A breakdown by region: in the West, retail is stabilizing — while all other property types are down in recent quarters. In the South, the only significant increase is multifamily pricing. In the Midwest, the market is looking bleak with all property types down, especially office. In the Northeast, industrial and office pricing is stabilizing while multifamily has made strong increases.