Office Investment Sales Have Officially Surpassed 2020 Levels
Suburban assets continue to be the focus of investor favor, with buyers allocating more than $25 billion into these properties in the third quarter alone.
Office investment sales volume this year has officially surpassed the total for 2020, with $34.8 billion of sales logged in the third quarter alone.
The Q3 figure is an increase over the $26 billion posted in Q2, according to a new report from Colliers. Suburban assets continue to be the focus of investor favor, with buyers allocating more than $25 billion into these properties in the third quarter alone. (In contrast, $9.6 billion was poured into CBD locations.)
Fueled by a strong life science market, Boston was the most active city for office investment in the first three quarters of the year, with $8.5 billion of sales closed. San Jose and Seattle followed behind at $4.9 billion and $4.8 billion, respectively.
Pricing was highest across the West in the first three quarters, with average sales clocking in at $427 per square foot, followed by the Northeast at $346 per square foot. The overall average US office sales price is $301 per square foot; that number was $279 per square foot in Q3 2020.
The sale of the 957,000 square foot One Park Avenue in Manhattan to Vornado Capital Partners for $875 million was the top sale of the third quarter, followed by the sale of One Memorial Drive (409,422 square feet) in Boston to MetLife Real Estate Investors, NBIM for $825.1 million.
The 768,000 square foot 655 New York Avenue NW space in Washington D.C. traded to Meritz Financial Group for $793 million. Meritz also picked up the 1,102,147 square foot Daily News Building at 220 E. 42nd Street in New York City for $790 million.
The fifth largest sale was the 876,704 square foot 498 Seventh Avenue space in New York, which traded to JR AMC for $680 million.