Editorial|&utm_term=|Website-Editorial-NAT(Website)|"> Auction.com platform, with the firm facilitating the closing of more than $205 million of commercial assets in November. Most notable among the month's transactions was a run-up of pricing in the office sector, necessitating investors to be patient with their purchases, says Rick Sharga, Auction.com's EVP.

“Pricing in the office segment continues to outpace the fundamentals, making this a market best suited for patient investors who can see the long-term potential a property can achieve. We're seeing a shift from bargain hunters to investors who are looking for market-priced office properties with unique attributes and features that make them more attractive to tenants. Properties with prime locations—access to freeways, residential communities and various amenities—help secure current tenants and are more likely to generate higher rents in the future.”

As Sharga told GlobeSt.com recently, the office recovery is not keeping pace with valuations. “There's been a lot of money available at a low cost, capital has been very available and you have limited inventory, too, so we're seeing these factors combined drive up prices. Things are trending in the right direction: vacancy rates aren't as high as at the beginning of the recovery, but the market is still not quite at its pre-recession peak.”

Sharga added that the market will continue to improve, and the fundamentals will catch up over time enough to justify these prices. “If you're investing in properties, you're looking at costs and returns. As jobs improve, so does the need for more office space, and rents should follow. It's not that we're seeing overinflation to the point where fundamentals will never catch up—that's not where prices are—but the imbalance shouldn't cause alarm.”

A prime example of a high-potential office property is Hawaiian Research Center, a 76,000-square-foot, four-story lab and office building in Aiea, HI, that Auction.com auctioned for 120% of the reserve price. According to Auction.com, the property's easy access to the freeway, downtown Honolulu, attractive residential areas and the Pearlridge Center—Hawaii's largest shopping center—make it an ideal property for patient investors.

Other notable closings for the firm in November include the Shops of Grand Avenue, a 91%-occupied, 293,596-square-foot enclosed shopping mall in Milwaukee; Campus Court, a 70%-occupied, 372-unit student-housing community near the University of Kansas in Lawrence, KS; Peakway Market Square, a 91%-occupied, 50,692-square-foot retail center in Apex, NC; and South Revere Parkway, a fully occupied, 59,270-square-foot industrial property in Centennial, CO.