Bank of America Center in S.F. fetches $1.05B
Not that this is ‘homes’ related, but the sale of the Bank of America Center is significant for a couple of reasons: 1. it was a record price for commercial property in San Francisco, and 2. if the residential market stayed hot when there were fewer jobs and a bleak outlook for jobs, this obviously shows a strength in the commercial sector (which has been slumping since 2000), and might mean that a new surge for the residential sector is forthcoming yet.
From the San Francisco Business Journal (who sources a Friday WSJ article), “Bank of America’s former headquarters in San Francisco was sold to a group of Hong Kong investors and Donald Trump for $1.05 billion, a record price for office space in the city, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.”
Even better is that “last year, an investment group led by New York investor Mark Karasick purchased the building for $879 million, or $489 per square foot. This week’s sale of the center was priced at $583 per share foot.”
$131M in profits don’t suck. Especially after only a year.
What does this mean for the residential market? Perhaps nothing, but it might also mean that there is a strong enough optimism in the commercial sector to justify paying record prices for office space. This usually means more or better jobs, equalling more $$ for the residential economy.
I’m looking forward to seeing how the doom-n-gloom media reports on this one…
