Austin Market Update: Office Investment Activity Speeds Up

Sales volume significantly expanded in April, when 960,000 square feet of suburban space changed hands.

Austin’s office market had a robust development pipeline, but slow investment activity in the first quarter of the year. However, sales volume substantially expanded in April, according to CommercialEdge data.

Seven properties scattered across suburban areas and spanning nearly 960,000 square feet traded in April, with combined sales prices amounting to an estimated $329 million. The figures represent a steep climb from the 162,000-square-foot, single-asset sale in March. The growth is also significant when compared to the same period last year, when a sole 66,121-square-foot property changed hands.

The largest asset that traded was a 345,600-square-foot, Class B flex/R&D building within the Southeast submarket. Graymark Capital picked up Met Center 10—situated at 7551 Metro Center Drive—from Virtua Partners, with Bank of America backing the deal with a $62.2 million loan. Built in 2000, the two-story property is part of the 550-acre MetCenter Business Park.

In another significant disposition that month, the three-building Paloma Ridge office park in Cedar Park also changed hands. Starwood Capital Group picked up the Class A property from seller Ascentris, while Wells Fargo provided $96.5 million in acquisition financing. The Denver-based real estate private equity firm purchased Buildings A & B totaling 206,772 square feet in late 2017. Comprising 165,714 square feet, Building C delivered in mid-2020. Stream Realty Partners acted as developer for all three buildings.

CommercialEdge covers 8M+ property records in the United States. View the latest CommercialEdge national monthly office report here. We included properties of 25,000+ square feet in our research.

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