In the wake of the sweeping tariffs announced by the Trump Administration on April 2, commercial real estate may emerge as a safe harbor for investors navigating an increasingly volatile economic landscape. Manus Clancy, head of data strategy at LightBox, makes a compelling case for why CRE could outperform other asset classes during this period of uncertainty. His analysis, coupled with recent data from LightBox’s CRE Activity Index, paints a picture of resilience within the sector.
Clancy argues that the first quarter of 2025 was marked by significant volatility, with sharp swings in equity prices and interest rates. Despite these challenges, CRE investors and lenders appeared unfazed, as evidenced by a surge in activity within the sector. According to Clancy, "The LightBox CRE Activity Index hit a multi-year high in March," signaling robust demand for commercial property appraisals, environmental due diligence reports, and property listings. This resilience suggests that CRE may be better positioned to weather the economic fallout from the new tariffs compared to other asset classes.
Recommended For You
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.
Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Erika Morphy
Erika Morphy has been writing about commercial real estate at GlobeSt.com for more than ten years, covering the capital markets, the Mid-Atlantic region and national topics. She's a nerd so favorite examples of the former include accounting standards, Basel III and what Congress is brewing.
