Sunbelt Cities Prevail in 1Q 2024: Top 3 Bottom 3 Metros

The Sunbelt heated up in first quarter of 2024, with the top three U.S. markets in our quarterly ranking all coming from the South. SitusAMC Insights produces a proprietary analysis of the leading and lagging metros based on the weighted average of NCREIF Classic NPI total returns across the main commercial real estate (CRE) sectors in 1Q 2024, compared to the previous quarter. We analyze only the top 30 metros based on total NPI ending market value (EMV).  

Overall CRE performance improved in the first quarter, with NCREIF Classic NPI overall CRE returns up 200 bps QoQ. However, returns remained negative as they have for six consecutive quarters. One-year trailing returns were -7.2%, among the worst since the Global Financial Crisis. Office and apartment were the worst performers among the property types, both posting negative returns. 

Explore the winning and losing metros in our slideshow below. (Click the bottom link for a full-screen version.)  

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