"The Atlanta investment market will continue to garner theinterest of institutional and private investors, who are attractedto the stability of the local economy and long-term prospects forfirming of operating fundamentals, says Marcus & Millichapregional manager of the Atlanta office John Leonard.

The report states that office properties traded for a medianprice of $150 per sf during 2007, a 15% increase from a year ago.Asking rents were projected to increase 3.2% to $21.01 per sfduring 2007, while effective rents were forecast to climb 4.2% to$17.24 per sf.

According to a Grubb & Ellis Q3 office market report forAtlanta, the market posted a 17.6% vacancy rate at the end of thequarter, reflecting a 60 basis point drop from the previousquarter. Net absorption rose to over one million sf for thequarter, with the most corporate movement occurring in the CentralPerimeter, Cumberland/Galleria and Downtown submarkets. Given thetightening market vacancy along with more than 4.6 million sf underconstruction, average quoted rental rates for the overall marketsubsequently rose from $21.81 to $22.02 per sf, full service.