Manhattan office building sales on track to nearly double in third quarter

Sales of office buildings in Manhattan hit $3.7 billion in the first three quarters of 2010, compared to $1.9 billion for all of 2009, according to a report from Colliers International. So far, 19 sales of Manhattan office properties have closed this year, with more than half of them in the third quarter alone, Crain’s reported. However, the sales activity this year represents only a fraction of the level hit in the peak of the market in 2007. Foreign buyers and REITs have been the most active purchasers so far, representing 36 percent and 31 percent of total activity, respectively. “The dollar is down and that makes the U.S. market fairly cheap, from a foreign perspective,” said Peter Kozel, chief economist at Colliers. Regarding the REITs, he said their financial stability has greatly improved since last year after they strengthened their balance sheets and raised equity financing. [Crain’s]