If there were one word to describe today’s investment sales market, it would be surprising. It’s surprising that so many deals are closing, surprising how much cap rates have declined and surprising how quickly all of it has occurred after the investment world sank to its nadir in sales and pricing not so long ago.

Looking for a big office deal? If it’s just dollar amount and square footage you crave, a partnership led by Houston-based Hines and Antarctica Capital Real Estate LLC is in escrow to buy an 11-property, 7.3-million-square-foot portfolio of California state office buildings for $2.33 billion.

For an eye-catching price per square foot, how about the $812 that New York City’s Paramount Group paid for each of the 186,462 square feet at 1899 Pennsylvania Ave. in Washington, DC at a cap rate estimated at 5.7%? Or the $503 per square foot that Newport Beach, CA-based KBS REIT paid for the 1.3 million square feet at 300 N. LaSalle St. in Chicago at an estimated 6.2% cap rate?

On the multifamily front, how about the $613,000 per unit that Denver-based UDR Inc. paid for the 160-unit Garrison Square in Boston, or the $376,000 per unit that LaSalle Investment Management paid for the 162 units at Senate Square in Washington, DC?

If those few deals suggest a conclusion, it’s that office and multifamily investments arguably top the list of most desirable deals today...

See the full story in the digital edition of Forum.