Class A office transactions were relatively scarce in the firsthalf of theyear in Lake County, IL, and the north and northwestsuburban areas of CookCounty, IL, with a total of 367,800 sf infour office property changinghands. However, in the third quarter,there were six Class A transactionstotaling 537,400 sf. Accordingto the report, the average sale price psf forClass A space in thearea rose from $121 during the first half of the yearto $149.80 fortransactions in the third quarter.

By contrast, sales of Class B and C properties, dipped markedlyin the thirdquarter. During the first six months of 2000, 24 suchproperties werereported sold, involving 1.18 million sf.Third-quarter sales in thiscategory totaled only two transactionstotaling 32,400 sf.

"Investors are taking a more cautious approach to B and Cproperties becausethey perceive that the combined impact of newoffice construction and asoftening economy could hurt occupancyrates," says Michael J. Christie,managing partner of the ChristieGroup. "We're also seeing lenders offermore restrictive terms whenthey're asked to finance the acquisition of Band C space."