The CRE Finance Council (CREFC), the trade association for the commercial real estate finance industry, has released its First Quarter 2026 Board of Governors (BOG) Sentiment Index survey results.
The index fell 20.2 percent to 100.1 from 125.4 in fourth quarter 2025, essentially returning to the survey’s fourth quarter 17 baseline of 100.0 and erasing gains accumulated over the prior three quarters. The decline was broad-based, with all nine core questions deteriorating quarter-over-quarter. The sharpest pullbacks came from views on rates, overall industry sentiment, liquidity, and the economic outlook.
Conducted April 7-13, 2026, the survey captured a sharp shift in sentiment driven by the onset of the Iran war and its cascading effects on interest rates, transaction pace, and the macroeconomic outlook. The survey consists of nine core questions and additional topical questions, which are not factored into the BOG Index. Ninety-one percent of the BOG responded to t
