NEW YORK CITY—The sale of the Peter Cooper Village/Stuyvesant Town apartment complex to a partnership of the Blackstone Group and Ivanhoé Cambridge. An even larger apartment portfolio sale—in the number of units, if not dollar volume—by Equity Residential to Starwood Capital Group. And, earlier this week, the all-stock acquisition of another company named Starwood—namely, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide—by Marriott International. All multi-billion-dollar deals announced in the past few weeks, and all indicative of what Situs RERC calls "a fully-priced market."

From the evidence presented by these transactions, "it is clear that capital flows have caused prices and deal sizes to reach a critical juncture," according to Situs RERC's fall report. "In fact, according to some investors, prices are outpacing the value of the properties they represent, and when comparing the high prices of commercial property in 2015, it is looking all too much like 2007 all over again."

It's not another re-release of the same movie, though. The report notes that since the 2008 global financial crisis, banking regulations have been strengthened and credit requirements have been increased. "Central banks the world over have demonstrated their commitment to incorporating accommodative monetary policy in order to lift economic conditions," the report says, while underwriting standards have not gotten out of hand despite the record low interest rates that have also made possible the previously unheard-of cap rate compression we have seen in this cycle.

Long into this cycle, according to the report, "we face another juncture for the economy, the Federal Reserve and for the commercial real estate value and price relationship." US economic growth slowed in the third quarter, and the outlooks for China and Europe also have been lowered. And the report notes, "it will be interesting to see if the Federal Reserve has the fortitude to begin increasing rates in December as most economists predict—especially if considerable volatility in the stock market continues at the thought of liftoff."

As for the balance between value and price, Q3 finds the commercial real estate industry at a juncture where value is equal to price. "Valuation assumptions are starting to have a difficult time keeping up with the prices in some markets," the report states. "There is no doubt that increasing prices are putting investors at risk, and the higher they go and the longer this trend continues, the bigger the risk—especially if interest rates start to increase."

In fact, Situs RERC president Kenneth Riggs notes that respondents to the firm's institutional investment survey say that "the relative attractiveness of commercial real estate from value relative to price has been reduced since the previous quarter where value relative to price was favorable, and as of third quarter 2015, value and price were equal. Commercial real estate is still a good investment but not as strong as an opportunity, given higher prices across the board."

Survey respondents expressed a variety of concerns, ranging from an "anemic economy and political uncertainty" domestically to expectations of interest rate increases and a declining stock market. One respondent noted, "If markets are priced to perfection, as they appear to be, any volatility could tip the markets dramatically in rapid order. However, if the markets stagnate, a whole different set of dilemmas could occur."