What You Need to Know About CRE in 2020

Yet another good year for commercial real estate investment is about to end, experts agree, and momentum across the market is expected to maintain. Industry research paints an optimistic picture for the next 12 months, with growth in office, retail, logistics and other sectors. Total investment volume is anticipated to range between $478 billion and $502 billion, down 5-10 percent from 2019 but still high enough  to become the strongest year on record, CBRE’s most recent outlook report shows. Fallon: The commercial real estate market continues to show strength. In our markets, we saw fewer transactions, but higher sales volumes. It seems that investors are looking to write bigger checks for core assets and are willing to pay a premium for assets with growth potential relative to years past. Boston is experiencing continued growth in construction costs, leading some investors to look towards value-add assets or core plus assets. We continue to see interest for commercial office and life science development in Boston, with an ever-growing investor profile in Charlotte and Raleigh, N.C. Recent trades in Charlotte have pushed pricing above $500 per square foot and rents have comfortably eclipsed $40 per square foot. In Boston, we are seeing commercial office rents in the $70-80 NNN range for new product in A locations.