Survey: Investors Expect Crash in Office Prices

Article originally posted on HERE on October 3, 2023

Office prices in the U.S. are headed for a crash, and the commercial real estate market faces at least another nine months of declines, according to Bloomberg’s latest Markets Live Pulse survey. About two-thirds of survey respondents believe the U.S. office market will only rebound after a severe collapse, while an even greater majority say U.S. CRE prices won’t hit bottom until the second half of 2024 or later.

Commercial property values have been hit hard by the Federal Reserve’s aggressive tightening campaign, reported Bloomberg. However, lenders looking to offload their exposure now are finding few palatable options, because not many buyers are convinced the market is close to a bottom.

“Nobody wants to sell at a huge loss,” said Lea Overby, head of CMBS research at Barclays Capital. “These are properties that don’t need to be sold for long periods of time, and that means holders are likely to delay a sale as long as they can.”