(Editor’s note: This article is adapted from a blog on Commercial Cafe. For more information, please visit: www.CommercialCafe.com)
After a cautious, yet fruitful year in 2016, investors continue to bet on the bustling U.S. office sector. We used in-depth Yardi Matrix data to compile a list of the 20 largest office transactions to close during the first six months of the current year, and the results paint a promising picture of the market in 2017.
The U.S. office sales market fired on all cylinders during the first half of the year, and the two largest deals each topped the $2 billion mark. By comparison, the largest office sale of 2016 fetched $1.95 billion–and that was a 19-piece portfolio deal.
Another thing that stands out is the fact that investors are shifting their focus outside New York City this year. Compared to 2016, when most office deals closed in Manhattan, the first half of 2017 showed more diversity. Bustling markets such as Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco and Boston all made the top 20, while the third-largest office transaction so far this year closed in Charlotte.
Various portfolio and partial stake deals made the list, which is in line with the trend we witnessed in 2016. The largest portfolio deal so far in 2017 was the $2.2 billion sale of Duke Realty’s medical office portfolio to Healthcare Trust of America.
Once again, Asian investors landed in the limelight, and HNA Group led the pack with its $2.21 billion purchase of 245 Park Ave. in Manhattan. Singapore-based GIC Real Estate made the list thrice, shelling out close to $2 billion on U.S. office assets together with its joint venture partners. Other high-profile foreign buyers include Ivanhoe Cambridge, the Qatar Investment Authority, Deutsche Bank, Mori Trust and the Korea Investment Corp.
Check out the top 20 office sales of H1 2017 below, and scroll down for more details on each contender:
