The database includes completed sales of the following types of real estate assets:

• U.S. office, flex, retail, multi-family, hotel or industrial properties.
• A common-equity stake that is valued at $25 million or more (see exceptions for portfolios).

The recorded value of a transaction:

• Excludes closing costs and any earn-out provisions.
• Includes only the portion of the ownership interest that changes hands.

The database excludes:

• Transactions involving properties located outside of the 50 states and Washington, DC.
• Transactions of less than $25 million.
• Mortgage sales, unless the loan buyer is a third party who takes control of the collateral within one year via foreclosure or a negotiated settlement with the owner.
• Mergers and acquisitions (deals involving the sale of a company’s operations).
• Property transfers between affiliated entities that are not put out for competitive bid.
• Acquisitions of properties that are ancillary to the operation of a business (car dealerships, casinos, golf courses, hospitals, assisted-living facilities, etc.).
• Transactions for which the property name, address or price is unknown.
• Transactions prior to 2001.

Portfolio rules:

• Portfolio sales of more than $200 million are included, except for portfolios made up primarily of gas stations, franchise restaurants, self-storage facilities or bank branches.
• Portfolio deals of less than $200 million are included only if at least one property is worth $25 million or more.

Rules for distressed transactions:

• Foreclosures or property assumptions by original or longtime lenders are excluded.
• Property transfers stemming from distressed loan sales are counted only if a third-party buyer pays at least $25 million and assumes at least 50% of the equity interest of the collateral within one year. The date the equity interest trades hands is recorded as the closing date.

Brokerage credit:

• Credit is given only to a seller’s brokerage that either (1) is awarded an exclusive listing and markets a property that is sold or (2) otherwise arranges the sale of a property and is paid a brokerage commission.
• A brokerage is not given credit if its only role is to serve as an advisor (such as only providing leasing/local market expertise or only preparing marketing documents).
• Dollar credit is based on the deal size recorded in the database. (So when a stake in a property is sold, credit is given only for the value of the stake.)
• When multiple brokers share a listing, the dollar credit is divided evenly. Each brokerage is given credit for the total number of properties involved.
• If a claim of brokerage credit on a given deal is disputed, Real Estate Alert might require the brokerage to supply verifying information in order to receive credit.

How portfolios and mixed-use properties are categorized:

• If possible to determine, the property type of mixed-use properties that share a single address will be recorded as the property type that accounts for more than 50% of the value.
• Sales of adjacent properties of the same type are counted in the database as single-property sales. Sales of adjacent properties of different types are counted as portfolios.
• For portfolio sales of $200 million or more, the dollar volume of each deal is broken down by market. For portfolio sales of less than $200 million, if one market represents 50% or more of the total dollar amount, the deal is credited to that market. If no market is predominant, the portfolio’s location will be categorized as “multi-state.”

The database provides the following details for each transaction:

The Database divides transactions into nine regions. Within each of these regions, properties are assigned to markets. Regions and markets are shown in the following list: