LightBox CRE Activity Index Reaches Highest Level in Nearly Four Years
Commercial real estate activity accelerated again in February, pushing the LightBox CRE Activity Index to its highest level since May 2022. The Index rose 7% in February to 118.2, extending January’s strong start to the year in an early sign of renewed momentum across core CRE functions.
Importantly, the February Index largely reflects market conditions before the outbreak of hostilities involving Iran. As a result, the data does not yet capture the potential impacts of higher oil prices, renewed Treasury yield volatility, and the broader market uncertainty that followed.
The LightBox CRE Activity Index aggregates daily activity across commercial property listings, environmental due diligence, and lender-driven appraisals. Drawing on more than 30,000 monthly data points, it serves as an early indicator of CRE lending and investment momentum.
Signals Behind the February Index:
- Listings Activity: Average daily listings rose 9% month over month and stand 27% higher than a year ago, reflecting a growing wave of commercial assets coming to market.
- Environmental Due Diligence: Phase I ESA activity increased 14% in February, marking the second consecutive month of gain and signaling robust underwriting interest.
- Appraisal Activity: Average appraisal orders declined 10% from January’s sharp rebound but remained consistent with an active refinancing and lending pipeline.
LightBox CRE Activity Index at a Glance
NOTE: The LightBox CRE Activity Index is based on changes in environmental due diligence (measured by Phase I ESA volume), commercial property listings, and valuation market activity indexed to a baseline (Q1 2021 monthly average =100). The index is normalized to account for variations in the number of business days per month. The historical CRE Activity Index has been normalized to consistently include historical and current listings across LightBox platforms. The Index value reported for the most recent month may be revised in the subsequent publication as LightBox finalizes the input datasets.
Will CRE’s Early-Year Momentum Withstand Rising Uncertainty?
The LightBox CRE Activity Index climbed to a nearly four-year high in February, signaling strong momentum across listings, environmental due diligence, and appraisal activity.
But there’s an important caveat: the war in Iran began on February 28, meaning the February Index largely reflects market conditions before the latest geopolitical shock. With oil prices surging and Treasury yields showing renewed volatility, March’s reading will be an important test of whether CRE activity can maintain its early-year pace.
Investors and lenders will be watching credit conditions, the Fed’s rate outlook, and private credit volatility for clues about what comes next.
Read the full February LightBox CRE Activity Index report for our complete analysis and outlook.
For more information about this report or the data, email insights@lightboxre.com
