The commercial real estate market has been largely unaffected by broader market volatility for July, including disappointing indicators about job growth, unemployment and wages, according to LightBox's Monthly CRE Activity Index. The firm noted new Commercial Mortgage-Backed Security issues and transactions continued during the month and lending spreads remained stable.

The index has revealed five months of steady increases, which is fueling cautious optimism about the direction of the CRE market. The index is an aggregation of daily transactions on the firm's network measuring shifts in the velocity of property listings, valuations and environmental due diligence. July came in at 92.4 compared with 92.3 in June but up more than 10 points from 81.4 in July 2023. The strong performance was driven by single-digit month-over-month increases in demand for environmental due diligence and appraisal activity that supports early-round deal-making. As usual for mid-summer, properties listed for sale declined month-over-month but were still up 21% from July 2023.

During the month, the CRE market showed several encouraging signs, including more portfolios changing hands, an influx of bidders on individual property listings, and a new round of sales across asset classes and geographies. Interest in listings for multifamily and retail are above the national average across all property types, according to LightBox's analysis of nondisclosure agreements, suggesting prices are unlikely to fall much further.