Dallas Holds No. 1 Spot For CRE Investment Despite Deal Volume Falling 64% Annually
Property investors continue to favor Dallas above all other U.S. markets even as economic turmoil stifles the bulk of activity.
For the third year in a row, Dallas led the nation in commercial real estate investment, with $13.2B deployed over the first nine months of this year, per new data from MSCI Real Assets. That’s a 64% decline over the same period last year, but still more than the $12.7B spent in the runner-up metro of Los Angeles.
More than 50% of the total investment volume in Dallas was allocated toward apartments, per MSCI. Industrial was the second-most favored asset type, with $2.9B in transactions, followed by retail at $1.3B, according to the Dallas Morning News.
Rising interest rates and a tighter lending environment is keeping CRE investment muted nationwide. Total deal volume in the third quarter was $89.2B, a 53% drop year-over-year and the fourth consecutive quarterly decline.
All 25 markets tracked by MSCI posted double-digit declines through the first nine months of the year, and all but five slid more than 50% annually. Nationwide, $276.3B was invested during the same period, down 55% year-over-year.
Office attracted the smallest amount of capital, with third-quarter deal volume down 65%. The sector has also caused the most pain: Close to $80B worth of CRE nationwide was distressed in Q3, of which office buildings comprised more than $32B.
In Dallas specifically, about $1.4B worth of CRE is distressed, and another $8.8B has the potential to become distressed due to delinquent loan payments, forbearance or slow lease-up, among other factors.
