The two-story building is known as Hillcrest Office Park and located at 1370 N. Brea Blvd. It is more than 96% leased to tenants that include New York Life Insurance Co. and Walden Book Co. It was purchased by a locally based private partnership known simply as E.P.I. LP.

The seller, a Southland-based partnership called CTF-13 Hillcrest LLC, was represented by Michael Lawrence of the Newport Beach office of Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Brokerage Co. The buyer was represented by Joshua Levy of Grubb & Ellis' Sherman Oaks office.

Brokers say that sales of large properties in Orange County have dropped in recent weeks, as pension funds and other institutional buyers revamp their nationwide investment strategies to cope with a shaky stock market and slowing economy. But individual investors and small partnerships are still looking for local acquisitions, say many of those same brokers, because they can focus on the prospects of one or two buildings instead of worrying about how such a purchase would fit into a multibillion-dollar portfolio that includes real estate, stocks and bonds.