The Wheels Keep on Turning

Participants in the 2016 Capital Markets Symposium (back row) Richard Coppola, Brian Watkins; (center row) Tuba Malinowski, Paul Boneham, Doug Schwartz; (front row) Steve Pumper, Michael Desiato, Cristen Conkling.

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When it comes to commercial real estate, everybody wants in. Deal velocity and pricing were up across the board in 2015, pointing to an increasingly competitive sales environment. A portion of the deal volume stemmed from cross-border capital flow that exceeded the levels seen in 2007—and resulted in a handful of enormous portfolio or entity-level acquisitions—but domestic buyers were out in force, as well. Partly on account of a broadening economic recovery that opened up opportunities beyond the gateway cities and partly on account of the search for yield, investors increasingly ventured into secondary and tertiary markets.