Commercial Real Estate Investment Volume Surges, Lending Conditions Improve

Executive Summary

• Commercial real estate investment volume increased by 19% year-over-year in Q1 to $117 billion.
• The CBRE Lending Momentum Index rose to 1.5 in Q1, up from 1.2 in Q4 2025 and 0.3 a year earlier—its highest level since 2021.
• Private investors were the biggest buyers, accounting for $66 billion of Q1 investment volume, followed by institutional investors with $27 billion.
• Inbound cross-border investment rose by 18% year-over-year in Q1 to $5.8 billion.
• Alternative lenders were the biggest non-agency lenders, accounting for 53% of Q1 loan closings, followed by banks (22%) and life companies (17%).
• Commercial and multifamily loan spreads tightened by 2 and 13 basis points (bps), respectively, from a year ago. Their loan-to-value (LTV) ratios rose by 2 and 3 bps. Spreads are based on loans with a permanent, fixed-rate, seven-to-10-year term and a 55-to-65% LTV ratio.