The Index considers a quarterly change "flat" if it is less than 1%. The average sales price in the CBD office sector was down 1.1% from the fourth quarter to $214.82 per sf. Retail experienced the second largest decline, falling 0.92% to $121.10 per sf. Next in line was the suburban office sector, off 0.82% from the fourth quarter to $181.51 per sf, followed by the warehouse market, off 0.07% to $45.05 per sf.

Despite the drop in most markets, year-over-year the average price remains well ahead of the pace. The apartment market is winning that race, remaining up 6.66% from the first quarter of 2000, followed by suburban office (+6.64%), CBD office (+5.24%), Warehouse (+2.73%) and retail (+0.34%).

As far as leasing rates go, the NREI reports that first quarter 2001 rents for CBD and suburban office properties have increased more than 6% compared to 12 months ago, the biggest annual gains of the six property sectors analyzed. Conversely, during the last three months, these two property types suffered the biggest declines in average rents.