Many in CRE want one thing for the holidays: a market bottom. It's completely understandable. Owners, investors, developers, property managers, analysts, lenders, and others all want to look ahead with confidence that they can plan.

And it seemed like that was happening. There was a brief stabilization in the middle of 2024 based on MSCI's RCA CPPI. However, CRE prices then fell for three straight months. September saw a 0.3% month-over-month drop — 1.9% year-over-year. That was even with a surety of optimism that the Federal Reserve would make an interest rate cut that ultimately was 50 basis points.

To see the bottom, buyers and sellers must find common ground and transactions need to start regularly. Until then, a general bottom is a wobbly concept and a half percentage point rate improvement, which will take some time to move through the financial system, isn't enough of an incentive.