By normal standards, property deals just aren’t getting done. There’s a gap in expectation between what sellers expect to get and what buyers are willing to pay. Yet valuations are slipping in the office and retail sectors in particular, and the feeling is they have farther yet to fall.

So, the buyers and sellers wait. That led to a shocking 54 percent dip in the investment volume for U.S. commercial real estate in the third quarter alone. CBRE is forecasting total 2023 volumes to have shrunk by 37 percent, year-on-year.

How long can the situation last? And will asset owners be rewarded for what a pessimist would call procrastination, and an optimist would see as patience?

A demanding buyer

The falling, low transaction volumes undoubtedly reflect investor caution, says Maureen Joyce, head of U.S. real estate asset management and equity portfolio management at Barings. Given investors’ uncertainty about market conditions, they’re d