Skip to main content
Jan 31, 2022 - Economy & Business

2021 sees record sales of commercial real estate

Nathan Bomey
Picture of an apartment building

The 8th + Hope luxury apartment building in downtown Los Angeles on Jan. 5. Bing Guan/Bloomberg via Getty Images

2021 was a record year for commercial real estate sales in the U.S., as investors scrambled to capitalize on how the pandemic is reshaping the economy.

Driving the news: Commercial property sales totaled $809 billion in 2021, nearly doubling 2020’s mark and topping 2019’s $600 billion, according to Real Capital Analytics data reported by the Wall Street Journal.

  • Warehouses for e-commerce product fulfillment were popular.
  • So were apartment buildings, made more lucrative by rising rents amid a shortage of inventory.
  • Resorts and hotels geared toward tourists did well, WSJ reports.

Yes, but: Office buildings remain in a slump as many Americans continue to work remotely.

Go deeper