PORTSMOUTH, NH—Hotel metrics ended 2015 at either cyclical or all-time highs, according to data from Lodging Econometrics. The new high watermark in the sector was for pricing per room, while sales volume and construction volume for the year came in below prior peaks.

The year just ended tallied 1,117 hotel sales with pricing reported publicly, with an average selling price per room of $162,781, according to Portsmouth, NH-based LE. That's nearly triple the $57,434 ASPR recorded for the 427 deals that were completed in 2009, the current cycle's low point.

Six deals of more than $1 million per key were largely responsible for driving up the overall ASPR in '15. They included the Baccarat at $2 million per key, the Waldorf Astoria at $1.4 million and the Doubletree Guest Suites at $1.2 million, all in New York City; and three California properties: the Malibu Beach Inn at $1.7 million per key, and the Montage at Laguna Beach and the Bardessono Inn & Spa in Yountville, both at $1.4 million.

Sales volume hit an eight-year high in '15, says LE. The year saw a reported 1,575 individual hotel and portfolio transactions, not including merger & acquisition activity; that compares to 1,491 in 2014. However, last year's total is still 28% below the peak year of 2007, which had 2,178 transactions.

Also coming in second to '07 is the development and construction pipeline. LE says its latest United States Construction Pipeline Trend Report shows that '15 ended with a total of 4,413 projects and 546,135 keys. That's the highest year-end total since 2008, but below '07's year-end total of 5,438 projects and 718,387 keys.

As of Dec. 31, there were 1,312 projects under construction, up by 21% or 226 projects from the year prior. The 1,912 projects scheduled to start in the next 12 months represent a 43% year-over-year increase; conversely, projects in early planning were down 3%, or 33 projects, on a Y-O-Y basis.