U.S. commercial real estate investment activity expands as investors transact through uncertainty

CHICAGO, May 14, 2026 – U.S. commercial real estate investment activity is maintaining momentum as capital flows continue to rise in markets demonstrating strong fundamentals and long-term growth potential, according to JLL's latest Global Real Estate Perspective report released this week.

In the U.S., Atlanta, Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. saw the largest share of investment volume growth among major markets. San Francisco led the U.S. cities with a 150% increase from Q1 2025 to Q1 2026, followed by Chicago at 96%, Atlanta at 91%, Washington, D.C. at 23% and New York at 21%.

Transaction volumes globally rose by 18% year-over-year in the first quarter. Overall, transaction volume in the U.S. totaled $113 billion in Q1 2026, up 25% year-over-year, with the strongest growth across office, retail and industrial assets. Asia Pacific led the global regions with a 31% increase in direct investment, with Japan being identified as the most liquid market, followed by Singapore.

The report also delves into sector performance highlighting that the office sector exhibited the strongest investment sales growth globally of the major property sectors in Q1 2026, up 42% YOY and for the first time since early 2024, overtook living as the most liquid sector.

In the U.S. alone, office investment activity was up 61% in Q1 2026, when compared to Q1 2025, supported by an active market for larger deals and the unprecedented low levels of new supply.

"Investors continue to have confidence in the relative value of real estate and are motivated to deploy capital. The markets gaining share are those with clear demographic tailwinds, infrastructure investment and diversified economic bases," said Danny Finkle, Executive Managing Director and Investment Sales Platform Leader for JLL Capital Markets, Americas. "We're seeing a fundamental shift in how capital evaluates opportunity, it's no longer just about yield, but about positioning for the next cycle. The cities leading investment volume growth today are the ones building the infrastructure and talent ecosystems that will define competitiveness over the next decade."

JLL's Global Real Estate Perspective provides quarterly analysis of macroeconomic trends, capital markets activity, and sector performance across major global markets.

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JLL (NYSE:JLL) is a leading global commercial real estate services and investment management company with annual revenue of $26.1 billion, operations in over 80 countries and a global workforce of more than 113,000 as of March 31, 2026. For over 200 years, clients have trusted JLL, a Fortune 500^® company, to help them confidently buy, build, occupy, manage and invest across a variety of industries and property types, including office, industrial, hotel, multi-family, retail and data center properties. Driven by our purpose to shape the future of real estate for a better world, we help our clients, people and communities SEE A BRIGHTER WAY. Powered by rich global datasets and leading technology capabilities, we provide coordinated, end-to-end delivery of real estate services for a broad range of global clients who represent a wide variety of industries. Through LaSalle Investment Management, we invest for clients on a global basis in both private assets and publicly traded real estate securities. For further information, visit jll.com.