CHICAGO—Some national investors have turned away from the Chicago office sector in favor of smaller, secondary markets such as Cleveland (see below). However, as reported this week, foreign investors continue to direct their capital to Chicago and other top metro areas. Many of them don't feel comfortable investing in non-core areas, simply because they know very little about these places. Therefore, even as some US buyers go hunting for the larger yields available in secondary cities, Chinese, Canadian and Swiss investors, among others, remain content with safer purchases in Chicago. But the city's vibrant office market still attracts a lot of interest. CBRE Global Investors, for example, recently bought the iconic tower at 150 N. Michigan for $120 million, the largest office transaction of the third quarter. And class A locations in the suburbs have their fans as well. Stonemont Financial just paid Oak Street RE Capital $1.3 billion for a national portfolio of properties, including 1200 Lakeside in Bannockburn, and the office portion of the Motorola headquarters in Schaumburg.

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