CA Surpasses NY for Highest-Priced Office Deals

California has surpassed New York for the top office deals in the nation. Google’s purchase of the Yahoo! Sunnyvale Complex in Northern California for $1 billion was the highest priced deal in the country last year, surpassing New York, which came in second place with SHVO’s $937 million purchase of the Coca-Cola Building, according to a report from Yardi’s Commercial Café.

“It’s the second consecutive year in which a $1 billion transaction of a California office building makes Commercial Cafe’s top 50 U.S. office list,” Diana Sabau of Yardi tells GlobeSt.com. “However, in 2018, Google’s acquisition of the Britannia Shoreline Technology Park in Mountain View came in third, behind two trophy New York assets―the $2.4 billion sale of Chelsea Market and the $1.3 billion sale of 666 Fifth Avenue.”

As a result, it seems like New York had a soft year, rather than escalating activity in the California market. Still, California was a clear beneficiary of the trend. “It’s fair to say that California’s performance has benefited from New York’s somewhat modest year in terms of office market activity,” says Sabau. “Last year, its priciest transaction was the second sale of the Coca-Cola Company Building, for $937 million. As it stands, the California market seems to do its part in contributing at least one transaction over the $1 billion mark per year, kicking-off 2020 with the planned sale of the Oceanwide Center.”