12 May Commercial Sales Report – April 2020
As we began 2020, commercial sales were tracking on pace with the historical average. Due to the impact of COVID-19 and the Governor’s (stay-at-home) order during the latter part of March and entirety of April, millions of dollars in sale transactions were put on pause. Due diligence timeframes were extended and closing dates were pushed back while buyers took a “wait-and-see” approach to the ongoing pandemic.
Although these sales are delayed at the moment, the encouraging sign is that, as of now, the vast majority of buyers are still planning on moving forward with their purchases. The core issues facing the commercial real estate sector, particularly the market velocity statistics that we cover in this report, are: 1. The uncertainty of just how long the restrictions on business operations will last, and 2. The extent of which this will adversely affect the broader economy going forward.
The final week of April saw an uptick in activity, which is a highly encouraging sign and a reason to be optimistic. If the economic impact is successfully mitigated by a quick return to business and the government’s robust stimulus package, we could see an above average level of sale transaction volume in May, June, and July.
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