The Location. When looking at individual assets, many buyers first focus on the primary geographic markets. As it has been mentioned by others, location is not the only consideration, but it is important and, in some cases, it may actually serve as an eliminating factor for some particular buyers.

Sometimes it seems as though there are the primary markets and then everything else. Currently, the coastal cities appear to be especially strong, and they often hold up stronger than other markets. Pricing and demand drop off when entering the secondary markets and they drop even more dramatically when we consider the tertiary level. Even within a given market, this dichotomy may rear its ugly head again. Demand for office properties in Chicago, for example, varies greatly depending on whether one considers the Chicago business district or the suburbs.

The Asset. Stabilized assets are currently in high demand among investors. While it is obvious that buyers have always been willing to pay more for stabilized properties than non-stabilized ones, the spread in the pricing is significant.

Many buyers are focused on stabilized properties and are unwilling to take on leasing risk in this market. Those buyers that are looking at lease-up properties are likely to expect some significant pricing discounts. And certainly their concerns are exacerbated when that same property is located in a tertiary market.

On one end of the spectrum are core assets, with high occupancy and offering a higher-quality asset. Buyers are drawn to some of their appealing characteristics, which typically include a strong tenant base, primary market location and stabilized occupancy. These assets are likely to trade at a notable premium under current market conditions.

At the other end of the spectrum are assets generally characterized by below-average to low-quality tenants with unstable occupancy, significant leasing challenges, a secondary or tertiary market location and below-average asset quality. These are difficult to finance and trade at significantly higher cap rates than those achieved for core assets. These properties experience unstable occupancy or leasing challenges, and buyers are not willing to pay for that risk. While there is no one-size-fits-all answer to the question of what portfolio buyers want, there do seem to be some themes. Many buyers today are looking for low-risk opportunities, and they are willing to pay for them. They want consistency, whereas in years past, many were simply looking for deals, any deals. Knowing this, and anticipating buyers' interests ahead of time, may help a seller plan out a portfolio sale.

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