PHOENIX—There are still value-add properties on the market, according to Steve Jaffe, who has recently been promoted to chief investment officer and principal of BH Properties, a Los Angeles-based real estate investment firm that focuses primarily on troubled assets in the retail, multi-family, office and industrial sectors. With the 100^th and highest valued asset acquired to date on the books, BH Properties is making shifts in the firm's buying strategy. Jaffe talks to GlobeSt.com about the latest acquisition and the firm's plans for the future.

GlobeSt.com: The Plaza at Squaw Peak located in Phoenix is the highest valued asset acquired by BH Properties to date. You paid $25 million for the 428,000-square-foot office complex. What factors helped facilitate the shift to buying a higher-valued property? Does your recent promotion play into this shift?

Jaffe: Squaw Peak brings us to our 100^th property in our portfolio, a true milestone for our firm. For the past few years, we have been very active in the Phoenix market primarily buying multifamily and retail. With the spike in pricing for apartments, we have focused more time on acquiring other asset classes. The Phoenix B class office market is very appealing to us as a 'value-add' play. We had looked at a number of other higher priced assets in the second half of 2014 in Phoenix and elsewhere, but didn't find the right asset that would be a good match for our portfolio until The Plaza at Squaw Peak. Historically, our purchases have hovered in the $4-8 million range so the higher price point is a new focus for us. My new position is designed to focus on these larger, often relationship driven, types of deals. While we will continue to look at properties priced in the $4-8 million range, the larger value-add deals allow us to deploy a great deal of capital, while minimizing the stress on our asset management team. The combination of acquiring our 100^th property along with our plan to go after higher valued acquisitions puts us in another category as a firm in regards to our acquisition goals.