Brazilian Billionaire Splurges on NYC Office Space, Signals Rising Demand from Abroad
Bloomberg reports: According to Real Capital Analytics (RCA) data, the recently-leaked sale of Manhattan’s 660 Madison Ave for $285 million was the city’s priciest per-unit office sale of 2010, and the second-largest acquisition by a foreign buyer during the year. According to Bloomberg News sources, an affiliate of Brazilian-billionaire Joseph Safra purchased the property in a private deal late in the year from 660 Madison Owner Realty Corp, which is actually an affiliate Safra entity as well.
Milan-based Risanamento SpA previously had shelled out $375 million to acquire the trophy property in 2007. The sale included just the 255,000 square-foot office portion of the building. Barneys New York, the storied top-end department store, occupies the balance of the property’s space that is owned separately.
RCA managing director Dan Fasulo remarked of the oversized purchase, “The price is nothing to sneeze at…The Italians had the unfortunate timing to buy at the very tippy top of the market, at almost $1,500 a foot.” In comparison, Mr Safra’s acquisition price worked out to about $1,100 per-square-foot, which despite being a significant discount after the downturn, was still the the highest pricing for office space of the year.
Bloomberg stated of the sale that, “The deal is the latest example of international demand amid a rebound in values for centrally located Manhattan real estate.” According to RCA data quoted in the article, cross-border buyers more than doubled their acquisitions in the US in 2010, to $1.7 billion, from $695 million in 2009.
View the full article on Bloomberg: Brazilian Billionaire Splurges on NYC Office Space, Signals Rising Demand from Abroad
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Posted by: Nina Turner