“Part of the lag is due to the fact that other markets are seeing more economic growth than we are,” he said. Simply put, DC is still a company town with the federal government driving the economy. There is a shift underway, of course, but not enough to push growth by a large degree.

Being in a presidential election year is also not helping, he added.

“People tend not to have as much conviction as they do otherwise when it is an election year,” Kevill said. “Sellers hate selling into an environment of uncertainty, which also limits deals.”

Beyond the Election

It may be that activity doesn't pick up after that ballots are cast and counted. This particular election has been, well, special and companies are signalling they want to wait and see how the new US president will govern once elected.

That was one of the findings in the latest Duke University/CFO Global Business Outlook survey of more than 1,200 senior finance executives. While not asked specifically about real estate purchases, at least 33% of the CFOs surveyed said that they will hold back on investment after the election for that reason.

WASHINGTON, DC–By mid-year 2016 office investment sales in the Washington DC area totaled about $7.8 billion, according to Avison Young's Fall 2016 Commercial Real Estate Investment Review. That was a 22% drop from the same period in 2015, which saw about $10 billion in deals close.

There are a number of deals pending right now — as is the case every year as brokers, buyers and sellers scramble to close the books — but Avison Young's John Kevill is not optimistic that the Washington DC area will top 2015's investment sale total.

It is now October, some three months after that mid-year calculation was made, and DC is still behind 2015's track record, perhaps even more than it was in June, Kevill tells GlobeSt.com.

“Nationally, the numbers are also off but by as much as in Washington DC,” he said.

“Part of the lag is due to the fact that other markets are seeing more economic growth than we are,” he said. Simply put, DC is still a company town with the federal government driving the economy. There is a shift underway, of course, but not enough to push growth by a large degree.

Being in a presidential election year is also not helping, he added.

“People tend not to have as much conviction as they do otherwise when it is an election year,” Kevill said. “Sellers hate selling into an environment of uncertainty, which also limits deals.”

Beyond the Election

It may be that activity doesn't pick up after that ballots are cast and counted. This particular election has been, well, special and companies are signalling they want to wait and see how the new US president will govern once elected.

That was one of the findings in the latest Duke University/CFO Global Business Outlook survey of more than 1,200 senior finance executives. While not asked specifically about real estate purchases, at least 33% of the CFOs surveyed said that they will hold back on investment after the election for that reason.