Quarterly NCREIF Property Index (NPI) total returns have decelerated from a 2015 trend of 2.5 percent to 3.0 percent to a current pace below its since-inception average of 2.26 percent. Following this moderation, total returns have been stable over the past five quarters in the range of 1.50 percent to 1.75 percent, with the lowest volatility in NPI history.

The NPI total return was 1.70 percent in third quarter 2017, representing investment performance for 7,165 commercial properties totaling $543.5 billion of market value. This was down from 1.75 percent in the prior quarter and 1.77 percent in third quarter 2016. The third-quarter 2017 total return consisted of a 1.14 percent income return and 0.56 percent appreciation. Over the past five quarters, both components of the total return have been relatively stable, with the quarterly income return ranging from 1.14 percent to 1.16 percent and appreciation in the range of 0.40 percent to 0.60 percent. For the trailing year, th