"There are still a lot of investors interested in the Atlanta market," Will Yowell, vice chair of investment properties at CB Richard Ellis in Atlanta, tells GlobeSt.com. However, with so few sellers and buyers in the marketplace, sales volume through this year's first quarter was only a tenth of that through the first three months of 2007, he says.

Another way to look at Atlanta's deal velocity, Yowell points out, is from an average of office sales over the last five years, before prices for some high-profile buildings soared beyond $200 per sf in 2006 and 2007. Cap rates for core properties were up only 25 to 50 basis points over the past year, he says.

The median sale price for office buildings in Atlanta jumped nearly 15% in 2007, at close to $160 per sf, with cap rates in the mid-7% range, according to Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services. The firm is advising investors to target properties north of Downtown Atlanta, where many companies are relocating and taking on new space.

Yowell believes larger deals than Colony Square are on the horizon, which may balance out the office investment picture in Atlanta through the remainder of 2008. "It's going to be, in my opinion, more of a backend-loaded year," he says.

Tishman Speyer bought Colony Square, currently 92% occupied, in the fall of 2006 as part of a 3.5-million-sf portfolio purchase from Trizec Properties Inc. totaling $675 million, or $193 per sf. A 140,000-sf retail mall and the 467-room Sheraton Colony Square Hotel accompany the towers, which have 22 and 24 stories.