Our research indicates global office leasing activity has remained subdued, with global leasing volumes down 31% compared with Q1 2020.
EMEA showed relative resilience with a decline of 8% in the quarter, while APAC and the US saw significantly larger declines of 26% and 45%, respectively.
In comparison to the fourth quarter of 2020 which saw global leasing volumes down 43% for the quarter, it is clear that the trajectory is trending in the right direction.
Investment sales also continued to show signs of recovery, with global volumes down 13% versus the same period last year following a 21% decline in the fourth quarter and 44% in the third.
In local currency, consolidated revenue fell 4% to $4 billion and fee revenue declined 7% to $1.4 billion.
Adjusted EBITDA of $190 million represented an increase of 96% from the prior year, with adjusted EBITDA margin increasing 700 basis points to 13.4% in local currency driven by discrete items of approximately $50 million, ongoing cost mitigation initiatives and a better-than-expected performance in our transaction-based service lines.
Our adjusted net income totaled $109.7 million for the quarter, resulting in adjusted diluted earnings per share of $2.10.
Our adjusted EBITDA margin improved 700 basis points year-over-year, driven primarily by the discrete items and cost reduction measures we instituted over the past several quarters.
Our overall real estate services fee revenue declined 6% in the first quarter, an improvement from the 17% decline in the fourth quarter.
The real estate services adjusted EBITDA margin was 12.7%, which compares with 8.5% a year earlier.
Absent discrete items, which include $35 million of noncash valuation increases to investments by JLL Technologies and early stage prop tech companies as well as an $8 million multifamily loan loss reserve release this year and the $31 million increase to the corresponding reserve a year ago, the real estate services adjusted EBITDA margin would have been relatively flat year-over-year.
According to JLL Research, the decline in net effective rents in offices across major US cities stabilized in the first quarter, down approximately 13% since the beginning of the pandemic.
Also, after four consecutive quarters of declines, average lease terms increased, albeit slightly from 7.1 years from 6.7 years.
From a profitability standpoint, the Americas adjusted EBITDA margin increased approximately 700 basis points.
Our Corporate Solutions business fee revenue grew 2%.
Fee revenue declined 17%, primarily on lower transaction fees and the expected absence of incentive fees.
We continue to forecast full year 2021 incentive fees of approximately $25 million, with about 1/4 of those hitting in the second quarter.
The 8% decline in advisory fees was primarily attributable to pandemic-driven AUM valuation declines.
LaSalle's assets under management grew about $2 billion or 3% from the prior quarter to total $71 billion.
LaSalle's equity earnings reflect $13 million of noncash valuation increases in our co-investment portfolio, which compares with a $40 million decrease in estimated fair value a year earlier at the onset of the pandemic.
As discussed on our last earnings call, we allocate capital by adhering to our framework, maintaining an investment-grade balance sheet, driving future growth through organic and inorganic investments in the business and returning 20% of free cash flow to shareholders over the long term.
At the end of March, reported leverage was 0.7 times, within our targeted range and seasonally up from 0.2 times at the end of December.
Our liquidity stood at $2.9 billion, with 87% available on our $2.75 billion revolving credit facility.
Lower incentive compensation payouts from prior year performance and our ongoing focus on improving capital efficiency helped drive a nearly $100 million improvement in the free cash flow deficit compared to the prior year.
We continue to expect to operate within a 14% to 16% long-term adjusted EBITDA margin target range for the full year.
Further, JLL Research predicts that by Labor Day, US office physical occupancy levels will top at least 50%, up significantly from the levels observed through the first quarter of approximately 15%.
In signing the climate pledge, we announced our aim to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2040 across all areas of our operations, including the client sites we manage globally.

Summary:
Our adjusted net income totaled $109.7 million for the quarter, resulting in adjusted diluted earnings per share of $2.10.