Commercial Real Estate Markets Improvement in the Fourth Quarter

NNN Lease Market News

U.S. commercial real estate markets continued to exhibit stability or mild improvement in the fourth quarter, Moody's Investors Service said Wednesday.
The overall composite score rose a point to 65 compared with the prior quarter, based on a range of 1 at the weakest end and 100 at the strongest. That puts it within two points of the highest scoring bloc, which Moody's calls "green."
Across all sectors, measures of market strength either improved slightly or stayed the same, the agency reported. The multifamily composite sector remains the only one with a green score, which held steady at 88. Retail also held steady at 64 during the fourth quarter.
The biggest improvement was for offices in central business districts, which gained four points to 66, which is the highest score before entering green territory. Suburban offices, the industrial sector and hotels also improved to a lesser degree in the last quarter of 2010.
According to Moody's, the five best metropolitan markets in the U.S. are: Honolulu, which lost a few points; New York, which held steady; Los Angeles 76, which gained one point; Orange County, Calif., which gained a point; and Washington D.C., which lost two.


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