IRVINE, CA—The office sector is continuing to recover, with a case in point being its strong showing in Auction.com's sales figures for April. The online marketplace and GlobeSt.com Thought Leader reported closings of $91 million worth of office assets during April, about a third of the month's tally of nearly $275 million.

“The office sector took a big step forward in the first quarter, with sales prices surging above $280 per square foot, bringing prices 26% higher than a year ago,” says Rick Sharga, EVP of Auction.com. “Even though pricing appears to be running slightly ahead of the sector's underlying fundamentals, increasing employment and office rents should increase investor interest in these properties and create even more demand through 2015.” 

Among the month's notable closings was Cotton Corporate Center Portfolio, a 49% occupied, 264,000-square-foot portfolio of three office/flex buildings in Phoenix. The sale closed on April 28. ? 

The month also saw auctions close for Blackwell Two, a 101,000-square-foot office in Rockville, MD; Palisades II, an 82,000-square-foot office in Raleigh, NC; Linden Park, a 105,000-square-foot class A office in Wilmington, DE; and Lakeside II, a 101,000-square-foot office in Dulles, VA.