Why it matters
The NPI and the open-end ODCE Index are the institutional total-return benchmarks for US private CRE. Per NCREIF's 3Q 2025 press release: "The NPI consists of 12,923 investment-grade, income-producing properties with a market value of $899 billion." Pension and endowment allocations are evaluated against ODCE; private fund returns are reported against the NPI.
How CRE teams consume it
Quarterly — scrape the press release and snapshot reports ~25 days after quarter-end. NCREIF membership unlocks expanded NPI + ODCE detail.
Caveats & limitations
Reflects unleveraged institutional core holdings — biased toward large, stabilized, gateway-market assets. Returns are appraisal-based and smoothed.
Use cases
- Total-return benchmarking
- Allocator reporting
- Fund performance comparison