Who stopped the ride?
By most accounts, the real estate markets showed a slow but steady improvement during 2010. However, as I look at the total investment sales volume for the Cleveland market over the first two months of 2011, things don’t look so good. Only three commercial investment sales have occurred and all three were small, less that $2 million each. A quick check with my friends at Real Capital Analytics (www.rcanalytics.com) confirms that the total investment volume on a national basis has also backed off a bit. The decrease in the national volume is not as dramatic as Cleveland market but noticeably lower. They are attributing it to a hang-over effect – the push to get real estate sales closed by year-end 2010 cannibalized deals for the first couple months of 2011. I would like to believe them, really I would. But I also see some danger signs looming on the horizon, including rising food costs, spiking energy costs, even the ripple effects of the disaster in Japan. But enough looking ahead. For now, to read the February 2011 investment sales report for the Cleveland market, click here.
