JLL’s latest Global Bid and Credit Intensity Indices point to a commercial real estate capital markets environment where financing and transactions are moving back into alignment. The firm reports that credit markets are actively supporting deal flow, investor conviction is firming in the face of macroeconomic uncertainty, and lenders are competing to deploy capital.
According to JLL, the gap between the two indices reached its widest point in May 2026 but has been narrowing since. The firm interprets this trend as a sign that the availability of credit and the ability to close transactions are becoming more closely matched, reducing friction between capital and deals.
For investors, JLL characterizes the current phase as an open liquidity window. Capital markets, in its view, have moved beyond a recovery phase into expansion. Buyers are seeing competitive financing terms that JLL still considers historically attractive, even after recent movements in yields. Sellers, at the same time, are encountering a larger universe of investors with stronger certainty around getting transactions across the finish line.
Lender competition is also reshaping borrower dynamics. JLL notes that borrowers are gaining tangible advantages in how deals are structured, priced and documented. Despite recent increases in Treasury and bond yields, JLL says the cost of capital and broader credit conditions remain favorable for qualified borrowers.
These trends are contributing to what JLL describes as a more sustainably aligned market. Liquidity and sales activity are better calibrated, enabling buyers to underwrite transactions with greater confidence in their financing assumptions. Sellers benefit from deeper bidder pools at the outset of a marketing process, while lenders can originate loans with clearer visibility into eventual refinancing pathways.
Looking ahead to the second half of 2026, JLL describes the current backdrop as a rare combination of deep liquidity, competitive financing and motivated buyers and sellers. Based on movements in the Bid and Credit Intensity indices, the firm suggests that this supportive environment could extend through year-end, even as broader economic pressures linger.
JLL cautions that macroeconomic risks have not disappeared, and argues that execution discipline will matter more as conditions evolve. The firm highlights several focal points for investors: whether the large pool of available capital continues to counterbalance higher bond yields, how sector-specific cap rate adjustments develop as underwriting standards are recalibrated, and whether volatility in yields introduces new gaps between credit markets and investment sales activity. In JLL’s view, the ability to move decisively within this shifting landscape will increasingly determine which investors capture opportunities and which ones miss them.
