Commercial real estate owners are increasingly offering office buildings at fire-sale prices, signaling that the office market slump is entering a new phase. According to The Wall Street Journal, more landlords are ready to capitulate. For instance, Blackstone recently sold the Griffin Towers office complex in Santa Ana for $82 million – 36% less than it paid in 2014 – while Principal Financial Group unloaded a Parsippany, NJ building for $14.3 million (down from its 2008 purchase price of $52 million). Meanwhile, 350 California tower in San Francisco is expected to trade at around 80% below its 2019 valuation of $300 million; this would put the sale price near approximately $60 million.
Listings of available properties have also been on the rise as investors look for ways out: “Office inventory is growing,” said Steven Jacobs , president of online auction platform Ten-X . “Investors want out.”
