News
Near Peak Performance?
January 19, 2011
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| The rising tide of leasing and investment sales transactions last year will gain strength this year, bringing the market even closer to the’06-’07 peak, we learned from Colliers International, which just released its quarterly research report. Deal volume is returning tohealthier levels, fueled by strong investor demand in NYC office buildings with cap rates staying compressed and pricing levels continuing to head upwards, says Tri-State CEO Mark Jaccom(above, with executive chairman Bob Freedman). The investment sales market particularly generated encouraging deals during Q4, for a grand total of 32 Class-A and Class-B office properties changing hands last year. Many of the Q4 transactions were value-add buildings that suffered from high vacancy and/or widespread and upcoming lease expirations. |
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| These transactions add weight to the theory that more investors believe rents will increase this year and beyond, Colliers notes. And in the higher-end pool, JLL’s Winter 2010 Skyline Reviewdiscovered that Midtown’s trophy stock posted its first increase in average asking rents since Spring ’08; the submarket’s high-end buildings saw rent grow by 6.8% in second half last year, compared with a 1.2% drop in the first half. (Rents average $77.65/SF versus $72.71/SF six months earlier.) The firm says that recent deals in Midtown suggest greater demand for premium space at the most prestigious addresses, with nine deals starting with rents of at least$100/SF by November. |
