CHANTILLY, VA-Two suburban office buildings traded here for $3.21 million—and their possible development into office condos suggest this asset class might be regaining its footing. The properties, acquired by Stonecroft Venture LLC, had been recently foreclosed. The new buyer is eyeing multiple exit strategies including, as the previous owner had planned, office condo sales. The property's flexible design will allow the new owner to wait a while before deciding, CBRE Capital Markets' First Vice President Marc N. Rampulla tells GlobeSt.com.

The buildings also could have been carved up into separate deals, but the bank wasn't interested, he says. "We did receive quite a bit of interest from individual condo investors to larger users interested in pieces of the building," he says. "But my client was not willing to entertain those proposals."

The two buildings are comprised of approximately 80,000 square feet of office condo space in shell condition. They are located at 14797 and 14801 Murdock St. The building is flexible enough to accommodate office tenants or condo purchasers from 925 to 47,000 square feet.

The deal was on the market for five to six months and the buyer received a total of seven offers, Rampulla says. The buyer, for the moment, is inclined to continue the condo sales strategy of the previous owner albeit "on a more financially feasible basis."

Demand for office condos dried up almost completely in the area during the Great Recession. They have started to re-emerge, but with pricing adjusted, Rampulla says. "Sales prior to the recession were north to $200 per square feet to $250 square feet. Now they are in the low to mid 100s per square."