The Fed's pending decision on whether to increase the federal funds rate by 25 or 50 basis points is expected on February 1 — and it could have big implications for commercial real estate.

"If the Fed goes with 50 (basis points), it signals they think they still need to push to contain inflation," says Marcus & Millichap's John Chang. "That would be a disappointment for Wall Street and it would likely keep commercial real estate lending rates elevated at least until the Fed's next meeting on March 22."

But if the Fed goes with a 25 basis point increase, "it would signal the Fed is easing back and will likely take some time to let the dust settle," Chang says.  "In that case, lenders may pull back their spreads a bit, commercial real estates investors will accelerate the price discovery process, the buyer-seller expectation gap could begin to narrow and the market will begin the normalize."