Biggest Monthly Rise on Record for U.S. Commercial Property Values

The Moody’s/REAL Commercial Property Price Index rose 4.1 percent in December, the biggest monthly rise on record for U.S. commercial property values. Moody’s Investors Service attributes the climb--the second straight monthly increase--to 716 transactions in December totaling $9 billion. (Building sales typically rise in December as buyers and sellers close deals before the end of the year.) Moody’s reported that transaction volume rose more than 75 percent from the previous month.

However, the report says that “two months of positive returns and one month of higher transaction volume does not allow us to discern a trend just yet, particularly in light of the fact that year-end commercial real estate activity can distort the true condition of the markets.” It is too early to say whether the market has bottomed, according to the report.