Investing in real estate is responsible for creating more millionaires worldwide than any other business venture. It’s estimated that 9 out of every 10 millionaires earned their wealth through real estate investments.
Based on data from the FDIC, 98% of all FDIC-insured lenders are involved in commercial real estate lending. Just 10 FDIC-insured banks hold 25% of those commercial RE loans.
Commercial real estate loans are the largest loan category at FDIC-insured lenders and make up a full 40% of all loans on their books.
Out of all of the FDIC lenders, community banks accounted for 29% of all commercial real estate business loans.[1] [2]
Commercial Real Estate Transactions Completed In the US in 2021
2021 was a fantastic year for the commercial real estate industry. Overall commercial real estate transactions in 2021 were up 70% over 2020, with apartment building sales making up nearly half of that increase.
In the final quarter of 2021, $300 billion dollars worth of commercial real estate changed hands. More than half of that, $160 billion, changed hands in December of that year.
Through all of 2021, $809 billion dollars worth of commercial real estate transactions were completed.[3] [4] [5] [6]
Commercial Real Estate Transactions Completed In the US Over the Past 10 Years
Commercial real estate transactions climbed steadily from 2011 ($220 billion in sales) to 2015 ($485 billion in sales). Sales were relatively flat between 2015 and 2020, with commercial real estate transactions averaging $473.83 billion USD.
From 2011 to 2021, commercial real estate transactions increased by 267.73%. The commercial real estate market is only expected to get better as The National Association of Realtors predicts that 2022 will see an increase in commercial transactions over 2021.[7]
Commercial Real Estate Investments Share In the US
If you’re planning on investing in commercial real estate, it’s important to understand where the financing for these investments is coming from.
While some banks will fund commercial real estate loans for larger entities, the vast majority of small business financing in the commercial real estate sector comes from private equity investors (54%) and real estate investment trusts (24%).[8]
Commercial Real Estate Loans Value In the US
Even though banks are the minority lender when it comes to commercial real estate loans, they still loan out a staggering amount of money to commercial investors. In 2021 alone, commercial banks in the US lent out $2529.42 billion dollars to the commercial real estate sector.[9]
Average Commercial Real Estate Loan Rate
The interest rate on a commercial real estate loan can vary widely. In most instances, you can expect to pay an interest rate of between 2.2% to 18%.[10]
Total Value Of Commercial Construction
Even though construction loans tend to carry a higher interest rate, that still hasn’t deterred many investors from new-build commercial projects. In February of 2021 alone, US commercial construction starts were valued at $9 billion dollars.[11]
How Big Is The Construction Lending Market?
The construction lending market has been growing steadily, year after year. In 2019, lenders shelled out $361.61 billion dollars for new commercial construction. The following year the construction lending market jumped nearly 8% to $385.72 billion dollars.[12]
Leading Real Estate Company Worldwide By Market Value
In the worldwide commercial real estate market, there is one company that seems to be holding the majority of assets; Brookfield Asset Management. This public real estate company, based out of Canada, owns and manages over 500 million square feet (SF) of commercial real estate, valued at over $69.7 billion USD in the following sectors;
- Office Space – 318 Properties totaling 167 million SF
- Retail Space – 179 Properties totaling 154 million SF
- Multi-Family Housing – 156 Properties totaling 58,000 units
- Hospitality – 16 Full-service hospitality properties & 140 extended-stay hotels totaling around 31,000 rooms
Brookfield Asset Management owns and manages properties all over the world and is the largest office landlord in both London and downtown Los Angeles.[13]
[1]: The True Failure Rate of Small Businesses
[2]: Commercial Real Estate: Resilience, Recovery, And Risks Ahead
[3]: Global Commercial Property Sales Rocket to Record in 2021
[5]: US Property Sales, Pricing Roar to a Finish in 2021
[6]: Commercial Real Estate Outperforms Expectations in 2021 and is Poised to Strengthen in 2022
[7]: Volume of commercial real estate transactions completed in the United States from 2007 to 2020
[9]: Real Estate Loans: Commercial Real Estate Loans, All Commercial Banks
[10]: Average Commercial Real Estate Loan Rates
[11]: Value of U.S. commercial construction starts in February 2021, by property type
[12]: US banks’ construction lending rose in 2020 despite higher delinquencies
[13]: Leading public real estate companies worldwide in 2021, by market value