Financial research concept

REIT Cash Leasing Spread: Change in Cash Rent on New and Renewal Leases

REIT cash leasing spread compares new cash rent with the prior cash rent on comparable space, showing mark-to-market at lease signing.

By Lee BaileyPublished Sep 21, 2026
Research context

See what supports this page, how current it is, and where comparable or historical context is available.

Research date
Sep 21, 2026Use the dated article and cited sources for the definition, examples, and stated limitations.
Operating-model context
16 connected conceptsPart of the reviewed REIT Leasing and Capital Deployment; issuer definitions remain distinct where disclosed.
Company examples
1 reviewed companyRelationships reflect supported examples, not a normalized cross-company KPI ranking.
  1. Why it matters
  2. Cash versus GAAP leasing spread
  3. Part of the REIT Leasing and Capital Deployment
  4. See It in Company Research
  5. Continue Research

A REIT cash leasing spread measures the percentage change between cash rent on a newly signed lease and the prior cash rent for the comparable space.

Issuer definitions differ, but the concept is designed to show cash rent mark-to-market when leases roll.

Why it matters

Positive cash leasing spreads can indicate embedded rent growth when below-market leases renew or space is re-leased.

Negative spreads can signal:

  • softer market rents;
  • tenant concessions;
  • weaker property quality; or
  • deliberate tradeoffs to preserve occupancy.

Cash versus GAAP leasing spread

Cash leasing spreads compare contractual cash rents.

REIT GAAP Leasing Spread can reflect straight-line accounting or net-effective rent conventions.

Rexford reports both cash and net-effective leasing spreads, and the two measures can differ materially.

Source:

Cash leasing spread is a rent-reset measure, not same-store NOI growth.

Part of the REIT Leasing and Capital Deployment

Connect lease duration, occupancy states, rent mark-to-market, tenant quality and concentration, development returns, and acquisition or disposition pricing to understand commercial real estate cash-flow durability and external growth.

How the model fits together
  • Lease rollover and rent mark-to-market: Weighted average lease term and lease-expiration concentration frame when rent rolls, while tenant retention, cash leasing spreads, GAAP or net-effective leasing spreads, and net-effective rent per square foot show how much space renews and at what economics.
  • Occupancy, tenant quality, and contractual rent base: Annualized base rent provides the contractual rent weighting base, leased and economic occupancy separate signed space from rent-paying space, and investment-grade mix, top-tenant concentration, and contractual rent growth describe the credit, concentration, and embedded growth profile of that rent stream.
  • Development and asset recycling: Development pipeline shows future capital commitments, development yield relates expected stabilized NOI to development cost, and acquisition and disposition cap rates frame the going-in yield bought versus the property yield sold. Issuer definitions differ, so these measures support capital-allocation analysis rather than a standardized arbitrage formula.

See It in Company Research

These companies are examples of how the concept is reported or discussed in public filings. Definitions can differ by issuer; these links open company research rather than a normalized metric comparison.

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