The reasons: higher loan costs; sellers holding out for top dollar; and institutional investors sated from their 1998 and 1999 purchases. For example, total 1998 sales were $370 million and $400 million last year.

Central Florida Research Park near the University of Central Florida in east Orlando garnered the bulk of the sales in the first six months of this year. Three transactions totaling $51 million captured three quarters of the total $78 million sold for the first half.

The highest psf price was $123.09 or $16 million for the 129,982-sf Research Commons Building. That was down from the record $171 psf or $111 million Chicago entrepreneur Sam Zell paid for the 650,000-sf, 35-story SunTrust Tower in Downtown Orlando five years ago.