The office market may have hit its bottom following a series of stressed property sales at discounted rates during the past quarter, which have set a new pricing benchmark, according to a Reuters report.

Seven properties sold at a discount of more than $100 million during the first quarter, compared with two during all of 2023. These include the sale of a Midtown Manhattan office building that sold for a 97% discount to its original price for a $276.5 million loss, according to Moody's data.

According to the RCA Commercial Property Price Index, office prices have fallen 12.4% year over year. This trend has industry observers speculating that the worst of office distress may be behind us. An increase in transaction volume would confirm the industry's comfort level with current pricing.