S&P/GRA Indices Show Negative CRE Return

Commercial real estate recorded a negative-1.0% rate of return in February on a national basis, as well as a 12-month rate of return of 5.5%, according to the S&P/GRA Commercial Real Estate Indices. "The sectors and regions of the market that performed the best for the month are ones that have been relative laggards over the past 12 months," said David Blitzer, managing director and chairman of S&P's Index Committee. "In the property sector, retail was the star performer during the February/January period, up 0.8%, while the region that performed the best was the mid-Atlantic South, up 1.1%." The indices showed an 8.6% 12-month rate of return for the warehouse sector, and a 9.4% rate for the Pacific Northwest, S&P reported. The worst one-month performance, negative-2.4%, was recorded in the Northeast, and the worst one-month performance by property type was negative-1.9% in the office sector, according to the company.