The U.S. multifamily sector is on a hot streak, leading commercial real estate in single-property transactions during the first quarter of 2026, according to Altus Group’s quarterly report on investment and transactions.
The Toronto-based CRE consulting firm found that multifamily projects accounted for 29.2% of single-property transaction values during the quarter. Multifamily also accounted for the highest share of properties traded during the quarter at 29.6%. Second was retail at 23.3%, and third was the office sector at 16.7%.
Altus reported that 50.5% of transaction values exceeded $10 million in the first quarter, up 3.9% year over year and 42.3% from the low point of the global financial crisis in the second quarter of 2023.
The first quarter of 2026 was also the third quarter in a row where more than half the transactions were valued at $10 million or more. The last time that happened was 2022.
Transactions between $1 million and $10 million accounted for 38.6% of single-property transaction values during the quarter. Just 11% of deals were valued at less than $1 million.
Industrial deals accounted for 22.4% of transaction values during the quarter, with 14.8% of properties traded. Altus found that the industrial sector had the largest gap of any sector between value share and the number of property transactions.
The age of the properties which changed hands also varied greatly during the quarter. The median age of multifamily properties involved in transactions was 61 years. The median property age for the commercial sector was 54 years. Industrial and retail properties averaged 41 years, while hospitality properties averaged 36 years.
The median price per square foot of properties involved in transactions continued to set records in the first quarter. The average growth for the price per square foot for all commercial properties was 1.4% for the quarter and 8.7% year over year. The increases were led by industrial, which was up 11.8% in the past year, followed by retail, spiking 10.4% since the first quarter of 2025.
