Commercial real estate transactions were flat last month, according to the Northeast Tennessee Association of Realtors (NETAR). 

“There were seven fewer leases and sales than January and three fewer than February last year,” Cassie Petzoldt, Chair of the NETAR Commercial Committee, said. “Compared to the first two months of last year, transactions are up 17.1% and the outlook remains positive but likely a little subdued by geopolitical and inflations concerns.” Commercial practitioners are as busy as ever, and investors – both local and out of area – continue to check out the Tri-Cities, she added. 

Analysts expect secondary and tertiary markets like the Tri-Cities to continue reaping the benefits of migration away from major metro markets. Markets that are and should continue growing fastest are those where jobs are available and attracting new residents.   

February’s transactions decline includes fewer office sales and leases for the first time in almost two years, and active listings show it. There were 93 listings last month, down from 119 last year. It’s noteworthy that there are currently fewer office listing in the Kingsport-Bristol metro area than in the Johnson City metro area where transactions have been most active. 

The only two sectors that saw monthly transaction increases were Industrial and Retail-Commercial. 

Active inventory for the region is down almost 17% from last year but up 22 new listings from January. 

Web traffic to the NETAR CMLS site was down 5% from last month down 12% from last year.