It was another big year for pricey buildings and the buyers who covet them.
Low interest rates continued to fuel the investment sales market in Manhattan, with big buyers from Joseph Moinian to SL Green plunking down sizeable sums to snap up properties before the days of cheap financing disappear.
In this issue, The Real Deal takes a look at the top building buys of 2004, with a detailed map.
More than 60 buildings sold for over $50 million. While no single acquisition rivaled the purchase of the GM Building for $1.4 billion in 2003, the top deals showed the large amount of capital chasing properties: Jamestown paid $755 million for a stake in 111 Eighth Avenue and developer Elad Properties paid out $675 million for The Plaza hotel.
Murray Hill Properties, Swig Burris Equities, Tishman Speyer, the Chetrit family and Chicago magnate Sam Zell’s REITs were among those who made multiple big purchases each.
Industry observers say the sales market is hot; others say too hot.
“The commercial sales market is very hot and will probably stay that way in 2005,” said Anthony Westreich, chief executive of Monday Properties.
Barry Gosin, vice chairman of Newmark & Co., expressed concern about some of the recent high-flying deals.
“I think that the really top end of the market is overheated on the investment side,” he said. “As long as interest rates remain low, it will continue.”