Office Sales in U.S. Fall to Eight-Year Low, Real Capital Says
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Source: Bloomberg
Bloomberg reports: Office building sales in the US fell in January to the lowest since at least 2000 as commercial real estate values and frozen credit markets kept buyers at bay.
About $744.6 million in office property sold last month, an 86 percent drop from a year earlier. It compares with $2.8 billion paid by Mortimer Zuckerman’s Boston Properties Inc. for just one skyscraper -- New York’s General Motors Building -- in June of 2008. In all, 30 buildings traded hands in January, three for more than $50 million, Real Capital Analytics said in a report today.
Lack of credit has all but shut down commercial real estate sales in the U.S. as potential buyers search for affordable financing in a market where lenders can’t securitize and re-sell mortgages. Values are down more than 16 percent from their peak in October 2007, Moody’s Investor Service said Feb. 19.
"There is little investor confidence right now due to the turbulence in the capital markets and general economy," said Dan Fasulo, New York-based Real Capital’s market research director. "This is causing the bid-ask spread to widen to levels unseen in decades, resulting in market stagnation."
View the full article on Bloomberg: Office Sales in U.S. Fall to Eight-Year Low, Real Capital Says
Posted by: Matt Stone