Office Space Trades Hands at Record Pace

By the way, while we were talking about the price of office space in Manhattan...

Also, though this article I have discovered The Stoler Report. On his website, there are articles as well as hour long broadcasts of Stoler's discussions of the New York commercial real estate market with industry insiders - a sort of McLaughlin Group of real estate but with more civilized discourse. _____________________________________________________________________________________

Office Space Trades Hands at Record Pace

By MICHAEL STOLER April 6, 2006

Investment sales in Manhattan reached a record high last year. Cushman & Wakefield reported that about $20.9 billion of sales were closed last year, and $5.2 billion of sales were under contract,resulting in record sales of $26.1 billion.The high sales volume was nearly a 40% increase over a 2004 sales volume of $15.1 billion. This year may even surpass the 2005 total. The managing director at Eastdil Secured, Douglas Harmon, said, "As we sit today, there is no reason why 2006 should not continue the terrific pattern of recording breaking sales activity of 2005."

Last week, a real estate investment trust, Boston Properties, announced it is in discussions for the possible sale of two of its Manhattan office properties. The company anticipates that these properties could generate gross sales proceeds of more than $2 billion. According to the trade, one of the buildings is the 37-story, 1.1 million-squarefoot FiveTimes Square, which was built in 2002. The building is fully leased to Ernst & Young; retail tenants include Red Lobster, Champs Sports, and Times Square Brewery Restaurant.The other building is 280 Park Ave., between 48th and 49th streets. This building complex consists of two office towers,one of 30 stories and another 43 stories, with a main lobby on Park Avenue. Tenants include Deutsche Bank, the National Football League, and the Prime Grill restaurant. Insiders believe a possible buyer could be Dubai-based Istithmar, which paid $705 million in November for 230 Park Ave.

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