• Total sales volume in February was $20.1 billion, a 59% decline from one year prior.
• This is above levels in April, May, and June of 2020, and close to July and August figures.
• Multifamily led all asset classes in volume, at $9.1 billion, matching January’s volume.
• Office and industrial are the biggest laggards, with their volumes over the past year down 71% and 69%, respectively. This is a reflection of how strong the start to 2020 was in these asset classes.
• Blackstone remains an active buyer. That will cause volumes to jump in future months thanks to life science and hotel acquisitions.

Office
Office market sales volume continues to rebound in fits and starts. February lacked major transactions, and the largest was for AmerisourceBergen’s headquarters in Conshohocken, PA – a 429,000-square-foot building that sold for $340 million, or $793 per square foot. Two portfolios in Washington state and Georgia, rounded out the top three. Volume will jump in March, as BioMed has closed on its Brookfield Asset Management life science portfolio for $3.4 billion. This continues the push toward life science and lab and further demonstrates the strength of the market segment.

Industrial
Portfolios large and small were the story in the industrial market in February. In the largest transaction, sovereign wealth fund GIC bought a 45-property portfolio spread throughout the country (44 of which were industrial) from LBA Realty for $1.4 billion. Life science heavyweight Alexandria purchased the Canyon Park Business Center in Bothell, WA, for $200 million ($316 per square foot), setting the stage for a life science development and adding to the multiple assets it has acquired in that area. Smaller portfolios rounded out the next largest sales during the month.

Multifamily
Star Real Estate Ventures’ sale of a 50-property portfolio of 14,414 units for $1.75 billion, heavily weighted to the Southeastern U.S., was the top trade of the month. RXR Realty acquired a partial interest in two properties in New York from Extell Development at north of $1 million per unit. There were several other $100 million-plus transactions in the month – Colorado was a popular destination with Reve Boulder, Gateway Arvada Ridge, and Cortland at Green Valley all topping that mark.

Retail
The retail market lacked headline deals during the month. The largest was a $66.5 million purchase of 7655 Clairemont Mesa Boulevard in San Diego, CA, anchored by Zion Market. A Life Time Fitness sold for $201 per square foot in Oklahoma City, while Meadow Village, in Temecula, CA, an 80,553-square-foot center anchored by Barons Market, CVS, EOS Fitness, Wells Fargo and Starbucks, sold for $26.3 million.

Hotel
While there were no $100 million-plus hotel transactions, sales are beginning to rebound, with 10 transactions over $20 million. In the largest deal, Omni hotels sold four assets, three in Texas and one in Florida, to Jackson Hole Trust Co., on behalf of London + Regional, for a total of 1,329 rooms. The Texas properties do not show a sales price because Texas is a non-disclosure state. Other prominent sales in the month included a Hilton Garden Inn in Madison, WI ($50 million, $284,000 per room), and the Sheraton Lake Buena Vista Resort in Orlando, FL ($49.9 million, $102,000 per room), also acquired by London + Regional. Hotel sales will get a bump; in March Blackstone and Starwood announced a plan to buy Extended Stay America.