US commercial real estate transaction activity in Q1 2026 showed multifamily properties firmly in the lead across both value and volume metrics, according to new data from Altus Group. Multifamily accounted for 29.2% of single-property transaction value and 29.6% of properties traded, followed by retail at 23.3% by property count and office at 16.7%. The quarter's mix reflects a continuation of sector rotation trends that began emerging in late 2023.
The share of transaction value from deals exceeding $10 million reached 50.5% in Q1 2026, up 3.9 percentage points year-over-year and marking the first three-quarter stretch above 50% since 2022. The milestone represents a sharp recovery from a post-global-financial-crisis trough of 42.3% recorded in Q2 2023. Transactions between $1 million and $10 million accounted for 38.6% of single-property transaction value in the quarter, while those below $1 million represented just 11.0%.
Industrial properties showed the widest divergence between value share and property count of any sector. The asset class accounted for 22.4% of transaction value in Q1 2026 but only 14.8% of properties traded—a gap that stood 7.6 percentage points above industrial's 2015-2019 average share of value. The disparity underscores the sector's concentration in higher-value, single-asset trades during the quarter.
Median pricing per square foot hit new records across all sectors except hospitality in Q1 2026, according to the Altus Group analysis based on its Reonomy dataset. All-property growth was 1.4% quarter-over-quarter and 8.7% annually, led by retail at 10.4% and industrial at 11.8%. Since Q4 2019, industrial median price per square foot has climbed 88.5%, while office has gained just 36.6%—the weakest performance of any sector over that period.
Property vintage emerged as a critical pricing driver across sectors, with wide disparities between decade cohorts. Office showed the widest new-versus-older price gap of any sector: post-2010 properties traded at a 44.6% premium over 2000s-built stock. Retail exhibited the broadest overall age cohort spread, with post-2010 properties commanding a 161.5% premium to pre-1970 buildings, yet pre-1970 retail posted the strongest annual growth at 17.7%.
Multifamily presented an age paradox in Q1 2026 pricing. Properties built in the 1980s commanded the highest median price per square foot, while the 2000s cohort traded at the lowest level—below even pre-1970 stock. Post-2010 multifamily properties were up 32.4% annually but ranked near the bottom on absolute price per square foot, according to the data.
The median age of transacted properties varied widely by sector in Q1 2026: 61 years for multifamily, 54 for general commercial, 41 for both industrial and retail, 39 for office, and 36 for hospitality. The spread reflects differing capital-replacement cycles and investor preferences across property types.
Within industrial subsectors, storage posted the strongest annual pricing growth at 22.9%, reaching a median of $91 per square foot. Warehouse and distribution properties climbed 12.8% year-over-year to $117 per square foot, while manufacturing gained just 2.0% to $71. The divergence highlights ongoing investor focus on last-mile logistics and self-storage over traditional manufacturing facilities.
Retail subsector pricing showed automotive properties up 14.0% annually to $149 per square foot, while bars and restaurants rose 8.8% to $226. Street and strip centers gained 10.3% to $137, and anchor and other big-box properties increased 3.4% to $103. The performance spread reflects differing demand dynamics for experiential versus commodity retail formats.
The Altus Group analysis is based on US commercial real estate transaction data from its Reonomy dataset, highlighting closed, recorded, single-property, non-distressed commercial sales exceeding $100,000. Sale price figures are nominal and have not been adjusted for inflation.