What is the current commercial real estate vacancy rate?

The current commercial real estate vacancy rate varies by property sector. Retail had the lowest vacancy rate in April 2026 at 4.4%. Industrial and multifamily properties were a bit higher at 7.6% and 8.5%, respectively, while the office vacancy rate was 13.9%.

Are commercial real estate prices rising or falling?

Commercial real estate prices are rising, with the RCA CPPI up 2.1% year-over-year in March 2026. However, it varies by sector. Hotel and retail property values were down year-over-year (and remain below the 2022 and 2007 cyclical peaks in CRE values). Only industrial property prices are above the 2022 cyclical peak.

How much commercial real estate debt is outstanding in the U.S.?

Total CRE loans outstanding stood at $3.09 trillion in April 2026, according to the Federal Reserve. The CRE charge-off rate was 0.17%, a low and stable rate, while the delinquency rate stood at 1.56%, which, while at a 10-year high, was still well below the 2010 peak of 8.76%.

Commercial Real Estate Investing Statistics 2026

Here are the statistics you need to know about CRE.

By Matthew DiLallo – Updated Jun 29, 2026 at 4:01 PM EST | Fact-checked by Parker Hicks

Key Points

CRE investment surged 19% YOY in Q1 2026, totaling $117.3 billion.
Office and hotel sectors show strong recovery, multifamily and data centers decline.
CRE prices rose 2.1% in March 2026; industrial sector exceeds 2022 peak.

The U.S. commercial real estate (CRE) market is massive, with an estimated investable universe of more than $26 trillion, according to Clarion Partners, a Franklin Templeton (BEN -2.10%) company. While many investors view commercial real estate as a single asset class, in reality, it's multiple sub-sectors, each impacted by market-specific forces.

As a result, some of these sub-sectors are thriving, while others continue to face headwinds. The current commercial real estate investing statistics demonstrate this lumpy recovery. Let's explore what the commercial real estate market looks like and what investors need to know for 2026.

Commercial real estate investment volume

Total U.S. commercial real estate investment volume rose 19% year-over-year to $117.3 billion in the first quarter of 2026, according to CBRE (CBRE -1.90%). That pushed the trailing 12-month investment volume to $534.1 billion (24.4% year-over-year increase).

However, while the overall CRE market has continued its recovery, not all property sectors are participating:

Loading paragraph...

Source: CBRE Q1 2026.
Sector	Q1 2026 ($B)	Q1 2025 ($B)	Change (%)	Market share (%)
Industrial & logistics	$29.6B	$24.1B	+22.9%	25.2%
Multifamily	$29.4B	$31.3B	-6.0%	25.1%
Office	$19.6B	$14.6B	+33.5%	16.7%
Retail	$17.4B	$17.3B	+0.1%	14.8%
Hotel	$9.3B	$5.7B	+63.8%	7.9%
Other (incl. senior housing)	$11.3B	$5.7B	+157.6%	9.7%
Data Center	$0.7B	$1.1B	-30.6%	0.6%

Loading table...

While CRE investment volume surged in the first quarter of 2026, there was wide divergence across property subgroups. Multifamily and data center investment volumes fell (stabilized property sales, not ground-up development), while office and hotel investment volumes rebounded from depressed bases.

Loading paragraph...

There was some interesting divergence in the data when single-asset investments were stripped out. A steep drop in single-asset investment volume (a 91.9% YoY decline) was the primary driver of the decline in data center investment volume. Meanwhile, portfolio sales helped drive the recovery in hotel investment volume, as single-asset sales slipped 0.2% to $4.7 billion.

Loading paragraph...

Source: CBRE/MSCI Real Assets, Q1 2026.
Sector	Index (March 2026)	YoY change	vs. 2022 peak	vs. 2007 peak
Industrial	192.3	+2.3%	+11%	+83%
Multifamily	198.7	0.0%	-18%	+94%
Office	96.6	+4.9%	-20%	-10%
Retail	103.2	-1.2%	-7%	-1%
Hotel	103.4	-3.7%	-13%	-8%

Loading table...

Commercial real estate pricing by sector

Commercial real estate pricing across all sectors rose 2.1% in March 2026, using the RCA Commercial Property Price Index (CPPI). The RCA CPPI indexes property values dating back to December 2006. Prior versions of this report used the Green Street CPPI, which collected data under a different methodology.

Overall, this index stood at 143.3 in March 2026. While that's down 9% from the 2022 peak in commercial real estate, it's up 36% from the 2007 peak before the financial crisis.

Here's a look at the changes in commercial real estate pricing by sector over the past year and from those two prior cyclical peaks:

Loading paragraph...

This data set shows the impact of the uneven recovery across commercial real estate property types. Industrial is the only sector above the 2022 commercial real estate peak, as demand for these properties has remained robust due to e-commerce adoption and the onshoring of manufacturing.

All others are still recovering from the impact of higher interest rates and other sector-specific headwinds. Of note, office property prices remain below their 2007 peak due to the impact of technology on demand for office space (e.g., remote work and artificial intelligence).

Loading paragraph...

Commercial real estate lending conditions

Now, let's take a look at the current CRE lending environment. For this data, we'll use the CBRE Lending Momentum Index, which tracks loans originated or brokered by CBRE. While it's not a measure of the full lending market, it provides a glimpse into the current market environment.

During the first quarter, the CBRE Lending Momentum Index was 1.5. That's up from 1.2 in the fourth quarter and 0.3 in the first quarter of 2025 (higher readings signal stronger lending momentum). The last time the index was this high was in 2021. Meanwhile, the average loan size was the highest since 2014.

Alternative lenders (i.e., private credit) accounted for 53% of non-agency closings in the first quarter. That's a notable change from a year ago, when this group's share was 19%. They've surpassed banks (22%, down from 34%), CMBS (commercial mortgage-backed securities: 8%, down from 26%), and life insurance companies (17%, down from 21%) as the top lenders in commercial real estate.

Here's a look at the changes in some key underwriting metrics over the past year:

Loading paragraph...

Source: CBRE Q1 2026.
Metric	Q1 2026	Q1 2025
Loan-to-value ratio (LTV)	64.4%	62.2%
Interest rate	5.7%	6.1%
Debt yield	9.5%	10.3%
Spread	181 bps	183 bps

Loading table...

Tighter spreads and rising LTVs signal lenders are extending more credit on more favorable terms than a year ago.

Commercial real estate loan delinquency rates

With lenders extending credit on more favorable terms, it's important to also look at the risk side of the equation: delinquency rates. Using data from the Federal Reserve's headline rate, which includes all commercial banks and excludes farmland. During the first quarter, this rate stood at 1.56%. While that was down from 1.58% in the fourth quarter and its financial crisis peak of 8.76% in the second quarter of 2010, it has crept up over the past few years:

Loading paragraph...

Now, let's take a deeper look at delinquency rates across different lenders and loan types:

Source: CBRE/Trepp LLC/FDIC/ACLI/Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, Q1 2026.
Lender type	Current rate	Prior quarter	Prior year
CMBS (30+ days delinquent)	6.58%	6.58%	5.78%
Banks — non-residential CRE (30+ days)	1.63%	1.60%	1.65%
Banks — multifamily (30+ days)	1.42%	1.38%	1.35%
Banks — construction & development (30+ days)	1.34%	1.31%	1.18%
Life insurance companies (60+ days)	0.32%	0.47%	0.43%
Fannie Mae — multifamily (60+ days)	0.78%	0.74%	0.63%
Freddie Mac — multifamily (60+ days)	0.43%	0.44%	0.46%

Loading table...

Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities (CMBS), which are fixed-income bonds backed by mortgages on income-producing commercial properties, such as offices, hotels, and multifamily properties, are the only lender type under stress. That might have played a factor in the steep drop in CMBS lending over the past year (from 26% of closing in the first quarter of 2025 to 8% in the first quarter of 2026). Investors should monitor the CMBS market for rising stress.

While the CMBS market is facing higher delinquencies, they remain relatively contained within bank and life insurance portfolios. That's likely due to more stringent loan underwriting in those portfolios.

Loading paragraph...

Commercial real estate vacancy and rent trends by sector

We'll now turn our attention to operating fundamentals by property type. The more granular data will show how these CRE investments are performing for investors:

Loading paragraph...

Source for all figures: NAR Commercial Real Estate Insights Report, May 2026 (April 2026 data from CoStar). NOTE: Cap rate (capitalization rate) is a metric used to estimate the potential unlevered rate of return on an investment property.
Sector	Vacancy rate	12-mo rent growth	Cap rate	12-mo net absorption
Office	13.9%	+1.3%	9.0%	+8.5M SF
Multifamily	8.5%	+0.4%	6.1%	404,000 units
Retail	4.4%	+2.0%	7.3%	+4.4M SF
Industrial	7.6%	+1.3%	7.4%	+122.7M SF

Loading table...

While the office vacancy rate remained the highest in the group, net absorption, which is the total amount of physical real estate space leased, minus the space vacated, was 8.5 million square feet over the last 12 months. That's the first positive annual net absorption for the office sector in years.

It's also worth highlighting retail rent growth, which at 2% over the last 12 months was the highest among the four major property types. That's due to the low 4.4% vacancy rate within the retail property sector.

Loading paragraph...

Meanwhile, even though multifamily and industrial properties posted strong net absorption, deliveries (new supply) still exceeded net absorption in both groups. Deliveries exceeded multifamily net absorption by 18%, while they were nearly double industrial net absorption, despite a 30% increase in the net absorption rate. These supply pressures continue to limit rent growth despite strong demand.

Lastly, we'll look at the April 2026 operating fundamentals of hotel properties:

12-month occupancy rate: 62.5% (still below pre-pandemic levels).
ADR (Average Daily Rate: The average price guests paid per occupied room in the period): $162 per room (up 24% from March 2020).
RevPAR (Revenue Per Available Room: A metric capturing the impact of occupancy and pricing): $101 per room (up 17% from March 2020).

Loading paragraph...

How to invest in commercial real estate

Adding real estate to your portfolio is a great way to diversify your investments and participate in the industry's recovery. Here are three ways to invest in CRE:

Real estate investment trusts (REITs): These entities own a portfolio of CRE, often focused on specific property types (e.g., industrial REITs). Many REITs are real estate stocks (publicly traded companies), making them highly liquid and relatively low-cost investments you can purchase in a brokerage account. REITs also typically pay fixed quarterly or monthly dividends.
Real estate ETFs (exchange-traded funds): These investment funds typically hold shares of the largest real estate companies by market cap. These publicly traded funds offer the same liquidity and low-cost benefits of REIT investing while providing broad sector diversification.
Direct CRE investments: Investors with more capital to deploy can consider direct property ownership (100% owned or fractional ownership through real estate partnerships). Direct investments require more due diligence (zoning, permitting, and local supply and demand) and hands-on management.

Whether you opt for a REIT, a real estate fund, or an investment property, make sure you do your due diligence. Pay close attention to the property type focus of a REIT or fund. As these commercial real estate statistics show, some property types are recovering, while others remain under pressure, which can impact returns.

Loading paragraph...

Loading accordion...

FAQs: Commercial real estate investing statistics

Loading faq...

About the Author

Matt DiLallo has been a contributing Motley Fool stock analyst specializing in the energy, industrials, and real estate sectors since 2012. He also covers dividend-paying stocks, pre-IPO companies, ETFs, and other investing topics. He holds an MBA from Liberty University.

TMFmd19

@MatthewDiLallo

Annie Dean, Chief Strategy Officer at CBRE, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Matt DiLallo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Commercial Real Estate Investing Statistics for 2026

Here are the statistics you need to know about CRE.

Key Points

Commercial real estate investment volume

Commercial real estate pricing by sector

Commercial real estate lending conditions

Commercial real estate loan delinquency rates

Commercial real estate vacancy and rent trends by sector

How to invest in commercial real estate

FAQs: Commercial real estate investing statistics

What is the current commercial real estate vacancy rate?

Are commercial real estate prices rising or falling?

How much commercial real estate debt is outstanding in the U.S.?

About the Author

Read Next

Stocks Mentioned

Motley Fool Stock Advisor’s Latest Pick

Premium Investing Services

Commercial real estate investment volume

Commercial real estate pricing by sector

Commercial real estate lending conditions

Commercial real estate loan delinquency rates

Commercial real estate vacancy and rent trends by sector

How to invest in commercial real estate

FAQs: Commercial real estate investing statistics

What is the current commercial real estate vacancy rate?

Are commercial real estate prices rising or falling?

How much commercial real estate debt is outstanding in the U.S.?

Commercial Real Estate Investing Statistics for 2026

Here are the statistics you need to know about CRE.

Key Points

Commercial real estate investment volume

Commercial real estate pricing by sector

Commercial real estate lending conditions

Commercial real estate loan delinquency rates

Commercial real estate vacancy and rent trends by sector

How to invest in commercial real estate

Sources

FAQs: Commercial real estate investing statistics

What is the current commercial real estate vacancy rate?

What is the current commercial real estate vacancy rate?

Are commercial real estate prices rising or falling?

Are commercial real estate prices rising or falling?

How much commercial real estate debt is outstanding in the U.S.?

How much commercial real estate debt is outstanding in the U.S.?

About the Author

Read Next

Stocks Mentioned

Motley Fool Stock Advisor’s Latest Pick

Premium Investing Services

Commercial real estate investment volume

Commercial real estate pricing by sector

Commercial real estate lending conditions

Commercial real estate loan delinquency rates

Commercial real estate vacancy and rent trends by sector

How to invest in commercial real estate

Sources

FAQs: Commercial real estate investing statistics

What is the current commercial real estate vacancy rate?

What is the current commercial real estate vacancy rate?

Are commercial real estate prices rising or falling?

Are commercial real estate prices rising or falling?

How much commercial real estate debt is outstanding in the U.S.?

How much commercial real estate debt is outstanding in the U.S.?