Capital Markets

One of the biggest issues we’ve faced is the stability of the capital markets, which are slow but showing some signs of life.  You have to look closely, but there are some positive signs.  At the end of March, two office properties sold for more than $500,000,000 each.  These included the UBS Tower in Chicago, which Hines Interests purchased for $540 million and the Altria building in New York, which Global Holdings (the Ofer family) purchased for $525 million.  Prices for office properties nationally are off just two percent from their peak during the second quarter of 2007, according to Moody’s/REAL Commercial Property Price index.  One exception, after accounting for well over half of 2007 sales volume, portfolio sales are rare in 2008.