A version of this article first appeared in the CNBC Property Play newsletter with Diana Olick. Property Play covers new and evolving opportunities for the real estate investor, from individuals to venture capitalists, private equity funds, family offices, institutional investors and large public companies. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox. After a promising 2025 for commercial real estate deal volume, this year started with a fizzle. The one standout in January was big sales by the Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust. Blackstone appears to be rebalancing its portfolio, selling off legacy holdings and moving to data centers, high-end apartments and logistics. For the core five real estate sectors, total deal dollar volume in January was $20.8 billion, a drop of 15% year over year, according to monthly data provided by Moody’s as a media exclusive to CNBC’s Property Play. It tracks the top 50 commercial real estate property sales across the U.S., in the core segments of multifamily, office, industrial, retail and hotel. January also marked the lowest transaction activity by sale count since April 2024, signaling that while large institutional deals are getting done, the middle-market volume is getting hit by tighter credit standards and bid-ask spreads. “January 2026 marked a sluggish start to the year for CRE transaction activity,” said Kevin Fagan, head of CRE capital market research at Moody’s. “The market’s still grappling with hopes and dreams of interest rate stabilization, general economic and political turmoil, a widening bifurcation of property sectors, and a search for yield that has made esoteric and more complex deals commonplace.” Demand and liquidity are definitely …
