Q2 2022: A strong market put to the test

Any prospect of the world returning to a more normal environment in 2022 was quickly put to rest in the first three months of the year. Soaring inflation, a new COVID variant, the outbreak of war in Ukraine and hawkish monetary policy gripped the global economy in Q1. Risky assets wavered while interest rates rose. Still, the U.S. economy appears to be in a strong place, buttressed by a healthy consumer and stellar corporate profits. Within the U.S. commercial real estate (CRE) market, we see a debate emerging around high valuations and the ability of strong fundamentals to support them amid rising risks.