NEWPORT BEACH, CA—Commercial property values inched up 1% in February, according to the The Green Street Commercial Property Price Index. For the past nine months, property values have drifted higher at a moderate pace, says Peter Rothemund, an analyst at Green Street Advisors, which publishes the measure.

“It's been more of the same—cap rates haven't moved in months, so all the appreciation is coming from top-line growth,” Rothemund said.. “And it's likely that continues. Property values may get some help from cap rates in the future, but if they do, it probably won't be much.”

Green Street's Commercial Property Price Index is a time series of unleveraged U.S. commercial property values that captures the prices at which commercial real estate transactions are currently being negotiated and contracted. Features that differentiate this index are its timeliness, its emphasis on high-quality properties, and its ability to capture changes in the aggregate value of the commercial property sector.