Even though it is a competitive environment, our approach is to stick to our rigorous acquisition process to ensure that we pursue the deals that are suitable for our investment strategy. We're very experienced and very good at evaluating opportunities, so we're able to proceed at a pace that is consistent with the seller's expectations of timing without cutting any corners.

GS: According to your website, your investment target cities seem to be quite diverse. What is the common denominator in terms of their desirability as investment sites?

MM: There are three common denominators in terms of secondary market desirability. First, we believe there is a price advantage in terms of a higher return profile. Second, these markets have lower volatility in terms of rent fluctuations compared to the primary markets. Third, we see very favorable, improving demographic trends in terms of population growth, employment growth, cost of living and cost of doing business that is encouraging companies to locate to those markets. These are markets where people want to live, so companies are migrating to them.

Our experience in successfully identifying, acquiring and managing a number of properties in these locations over the years underscores our proficiency in the select secondary market.

GS: Is investment more difficult these days?

MM: Every market brings challenges. Today's investment environment isn't any more challenging now than it was before, it is just different. It's a competitive landscape on the buy side, no doubt about it. But we're also investing in a period where we expect to see increases in occupancy and rental rates. While it's a challenging investment environment, it is a more rewarding environment given the anticipated continued improvements in real estate fundamentals.

Regardless of the market conditions, we're focused on finding the right investments to add to our portfolio. We're willing to be patient when we need to be and aggressive when we can be.

GS: What trends are you seeing when it comes to office properties and CRE in general?

MM: One of the principal trends we're monitoring is evaluating how a target property will meet the needs of the end user – the office worker. We are very thoughtful in

our evaluation of a target property's location in the micro market, i.e. is it near a good amenity base, is it going to appeal to the typical office worker, particularly the younger office worker that is more focused on the live/play/work experience. Evaluating those components is absolutely dialed-in to our acquisition assessment process.

Another trend in the market we're seeing is that when leases roll, over some companies are renewing at 75% to 80% of their original space. We take that possibility into consideration in our due diligence and underwriting, giving careful consideration to the current tenant base, how they are occupying their space and what efficiencies they may try to achieve when their lease rolls. This helps us determine our pricing and how much we're willing to pay for a specific property.

We are also supporting and pursuing many sustainability initiatives. It is the right approach for our real estate holdings and our tenants. It helps the overall performance of our properties. For our acquisition targets, we want to know the current LEED certification, the ENERGY STAR rating -- that kind of information. We also look at how we can further support sustainability for our valued corporate tenants.