Topic 820 defines fair value as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. Topic 820 also establishes a three-level fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs used to measure fair value. This hierarchy requires entities to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs. The three levels of inputs used to measure fair value are as follows:

•Level 2 – Observable inputs other than quoted prices included in Level 1, such as quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets; quoted prices for identical or similar assets and liabilities in markets that are not active; or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data.

•Level 3 – Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the fair value of the assets or liabilities. This includes certain pricing models, discounted cash flow methodologies and similar techniques that use significant unobservable inputs.


	December 31, 2020
	Fair Value Measured and Recorded Using
	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
Assets
Available for sale securities:
Debt securities:
U.S. treasury securities	$	7,270	$	—	$	—	$	7,270
Debt securities issued by U.S. federal agencies	—		10,216		—		10,216
Corporate debt securities	—		51,244		—		51,244
Asset-backed securities	—		3,801		—		3,801
Collateralized mortgage obligations	—		1,369		—		1,369
Total available for sale debt securities	7,270		66,630		—		73,900
Equity securities	43,334		—		—		43,334
Investments in unconsolidated subsidiaries	—		—		50,000		50,000
Warehouse receivables	—		1,411,170		—		1,411,170
Total assets at fair value	$	50,604	$	1,477,800	$	50,000	$	1,578,404


	December 31, 2019
	Fair Value Measured and Recorded Using
	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
Assets
Available for sale securities:
Debt securities:
U.S. treasury securities	$	6,998	$	—	$	—	$	6,998
Debt securities issued by U.S. federal agencies	—		10,639		—		10,639
Corporate debt securities	—		29,098		—		29,098
Asset-backed securities	—		5,152		—		5,152
Collateralized mortgage obligations	—		2,222		—		2,222
Total available for sale debt securities	6,998		47,111		—		54,109
Equity securities	51,399		—		—		51,399

Warehouse receivables	—		993,058		—		993,058
Total assets at fair value	$	58,397	$	1,040,169	$	—	$	1,098,566

Fair value measurements for our available for sale debt securities are obtained from independent pricing services which utilize observable market data that may include quoted market prices, dealer quotes, market spreads, cash flows, the U.S. treasury yield curve, trading levels, market consensus prepayment speeds, credit information and the instrument's terms and conditions.

The equity securities are generally valued at the last reported sales price on the day of valuation or, if no sales occurred on the valuation date, at the mean of the bid and ask prices on such date.

We classify one investment as level 3 in the fair value hierarchy which represents an investment in a non-public entity where we elected the fair value option. The carrying value is deemed to approximate the fair value of this investment due to the proximity of the investment date to the balance sheet date as well as investee-level performance updates. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, investments in unconsolidated subsidiaries at fair value using NAV were $66.3 million and $124.3 million, respectively. These investments fall under practical expedient rules that do not require them to be included in the fair value hierarchy and as a result have been excluded from the tables above.

The fair values of the warehouse receivables are primarily calculated based on already locked in purchase prices. At December 31, 2020 and 2019, all of the warehouse receivables included in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets were either under commitment to be purchased by Freddie Mac or had confirmed forward trade commitments for the issuance and purchase of Fannie Mae or Ginnie Mae mortgage backed securities that will be secured by the underlying loans (See Notes 2 and 5). These assets are classified as Level 2 in the fair value hierarchy as a substantial majority of inputs are readily observable.


	Net Carrying Value as of December 31, 2020		Fair Value Measured and Recorded Using						Total Impairment Charges for the Year Ended December 31, 2020
			Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
Property and equipment	$	12,870	$	—	$	12,870	$	—	$	29,168
Goodwill	443,305		—		—		443,305		25,000
Other intangible assets	12,562		—		—		12,562		34,508
Total	$	468,737	$	—	$	12,870	$	455,867	$	88,676

During the year ended December 31, 2020, we recorded $50.2 million of non-cash asset impairment charges in our Global Workplace Solutions segment; a non-cash goodwill impairment charge of $25.0 million and certain non-cash asset impairment charges of $13.5 million in our Real Estate Investments segment. Primarily as a result of the recent global economic disruption and uncertainty due to Covid-19, we deemed there to be triggering events during 2020 that required testing of goodwill and certain assets for impairment. Based on these events, we recorded the aforementioned non-cash impairment charges, which were primarily driven by lower anticipated cash flows in certain businesses directly resulting from a downturn in forecasts as well as increased forecast risk due to Covid-19 and changes in our business going forward.


	Net Carrying Value as of December 31, 2019		Fair Value Measured and Recorded Using						Total Impairment Charges for the Year Ended December 31, 2019
	Net Carrying Value as of December 31, 2019		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
Other intangible assets	$	14,753	$	—	$	—	$	14,753	$	89,787

During the year ended December 31, 2019, we recorded an intangible asset impairment of $89.8 million in our Real Estate Investments segment. This non-cash write-off resulted from a review of the anticipated cash flows and the decrease in assets under management in our public securities business driven in part by continued industry-wide shift in investor preference for passive investment programs.

All of the above-mentioned asset impairment charges were included within the line item “Asset impairments” in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations. The fair value measurements employed for our impairment evaluations were based on a discounted cash flow approach. Inputs used in these evaluations included risk-free rates of return, estimated risk premiums, terminal growth rates, working capital assumptions, income tax rates as well as other economic variables.

During the year ended December 31, 2018, we recorded a gain of $100.4 million associated with remeasuring our 50% investment in a previously unconsolidated subsidiary in New England to fair value as of the date we acquired the remaining 50% controlling interest. Fair value of this investment in our unconsolidated subsidiary as of the acquisition date was $110.1 million based upon the purchase price paid for the remaining 50% interest acquired, excluding the estimated control premium paid, which falls under Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy. Such gain was reflected in other income in our Advisory Services segment in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations for the year ended December 31, 2018.

FASB ASC Topic 825, “Financial Instruments,” requires disclosure of fair value information about financial instruments, whether or not recognized in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. Our financial instruments are as follows:

•Cash and Cash Equivalents and Restricted Cash – These balances include cash and cash equivalents as well as restricted cash with maturities of less than three months. The carrying amount approximates fair value due to the short-term maturities of these instruments.

•Warehouse Receivables – These balances are carried at fair value. The primary source of value is either a contractual purchase commitment from Freddie Mac or a confirmed forward trade commitment for the issuance and purchase of a Fannie Mae or Ginnie Mae MBS (see Notes 2 and 5).

•Investments in Unconsolidated Subsidiaries – A portion of these investments are carried at fair value. At December 31, 2020, we did not classify any investments in unconsolidated subsidiaries as Level 1 in the fair value hierarchy. For investments in unconsolidated subsidiaries that are carried at fair value, we estimate the fair value of each investment using the NAV per share (or its equivalent).

•Investments Held in Trust - special purpose acquisition company – Funds received as part of the initial public offering of CBRE Acquisition Holdings have been deposited in an interest-bearing U.S. based trust account. The funds will be invested only in specified U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 180 days or less or in money market funds. The carrying amount approximates fair value due to the short-term maturities of these instruments. (See Note 2).

•Short-Term Borrowings – The majority of this balance represents outstanding amounts under our warehouse lines of credit of our wholly-owned subsidiary, CBRE Capital Markets and our revolving credit facility. Due to the short-term nature and variable interest rates of these instruments, fair value approximates carrying value (see Notes 5 and 11).

•Senior Term Loans – Based upon information from third-party banks (which falls within Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy), the estimated fair value of our senior term loans was approximately $772.2 million and $745.5 million at December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Their actual carrying value, net of unamortized debt issuance costs, totaled $785.7 million and $744.6 million at December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively (see Note 11).

•Senior Notes – Based on dealers’ quotes (which falls within Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy), the estimated fair value of our 4.875% senior notes was $702.5 million and $670.7 million at December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. The actual carrying value of our 4.875% senior notes, net of unamortized debt issuance costs and unamortized discount, totaled $594.5 million and $593.6 million at December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. On December 28, 2020, we redeemed the $425.0 million aggregate outstanding principal amount of our 5.25% senior notes in full (See Note 11). At December 31, 2019, the estimated fair value and actual carrying value (net of unamortized debt issuance costs as well as unamortized premium) of our 5.25% senior notes was $478.3 million and $423.0 million, respectively.

•Notes Payable on Real Estate – As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the carrying value of our notes payable on real estate, net of unamortized debt issuance costs, was $79.6 million and $13.1 million, respectively. These notes payable were not recourse to CBRE Group, Inc., except for being recourse to the single-purpose entities that held the real estate assets and were the primary obligors on the notes payable. These borrowings have either fixed interest rates or floating interest rates at spreads added to a market index. Although it is possible that certain portions of our notes payable on real estate may have fair values that differ from their carrying values, based on the terms of such loans as compared to current market conditions, or other factors specific to the borrower entity, we do not believe that the fair value of our notes payable is significantly different than their carrying value.