Another bearish signal is the decline in so-called blanket sales, in which a buyer acquires a bundle of properties for a single price, from 17.4 percent of all vacant land deals during the first six months of 2017 to 13.9 percent during the first six months of 2018. Because such transactions are common when big tracts are being assembled for major developments, the dip "indicates a likely reduction in the number of large projects entering the development pipeline," Gillen said.