This week, we review the “how much, how little, how big, how small” of the real estate capital markets for 2013; next week, we will examine the projections, climb out on a limb, and try to forecast what 2014 will look like.

Lows and highs were energized this month: unemployment dropped to an almost four-year low; cap rates stayed near four-year lows, but moved enough to suggest a broadening buyer appetite for secondary markets; CMBS issuance vaulted to an almost five-year high; and multifamily permits were near four-year highs.

Buyer appetite for commercial property remains strong as indicated by continued low cap rates, rising transactions, and prices at three-and-a-half-year highs. Multifamily construction took a break from its recent momentum; single-family construction continued upward even as new home sales dropped dramatically. Existing housing prices are taking off, at least for now. But weak economic indicators continue to raise fears that any emerging strength can be easily knocked off course.

The entry of insurers and pension funds into European commercial real estate credit will have a substantial impact on property pricing, according to panelists at a the ULI Germany’s Urban Leader Summit.

Spreads reported by Trepp LLC remain “range-bound” at an average spread of 207 basis points over 10-year Treasuries. The Cushman & Wakefield Sonnenblick-Goldman Survey shows rates coming in slightly with lenders seemingly ready to lend at attractive spreads if the right deal comes their way.

The top ten trends in this month’s Barometer point to sparks as well as concerns in the economy, some weak signals in the capital markets, and some glimmer in the weak housing market. Compared with a year ago, 57 percent of the key indicators in the Barometer are better and 43 percent are worse.

The Commercial Mortgage Alert Trepp weekly survey of 15 active portfolio lenders remained unchanged during the most recent survey period with financing remaining available in the 5 percent +/- range.