Los Angeles office investors are heading to Phoenix for better yields and more opportunities. Barker Pacific Group recently purchased the Mesa Financial Plaza in Mesa, Arizona, and it is planning more acquisitions in the market, according to Michael Barker, the CEO and managing director of the investment firm. While the firm wouldn't disclose the exact sales price, Barker did say that it was able to secure the property below the asking price. This is not the firm's first acquisition in the market, but it is the first since the early 2000s. We sat down with Barker for an exclusive interview to ask why the market is attracting the firm today, how it's changed and how it stakes up to Los Angeles.

GlobeSt.com: Why are you attracted to the Phoenix market today?

Michael Barker: Today, we are seeing a growing disparity in the occupancy costs, cost of living and cost of business between Southern California and Phoenix. It has become a very attractive place for companies to outsource back office personnel that need or want to be in a lower cost environment. Google, Microsoft and Boeing in the last two or three years have taken major real estate positions in the Phoenix market. When this opportunity came to us, the pricing was such that we felt that the market was early enough in its recovery that it was attractive.