Investment Market Overview
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Q4 2014 | INVESTMENT CHICAGO INVESTMENT MARKET OVERVIEW Investment fundamentals in Chicago improved tremendously in 2014, with many sectors reporting sales approaching near-peak levels. Office As was the case in 2013, U.S. investors have indicated a clear preference for office assets in their home country, with three out of four respondents in Colliers International’s annual “Global Investor Sentiment” report anticipating that their primary investment focus during 2015 will be in the United States. Demand from both domestic and cross-border investors remains voracious, particularly given softening economic conditions elsewhere around the globe. The Illinois and Chicago economies showed considerable improvement in 2014 and this appears to be carrying into 2015. An unresolved fiscal situation and a new governor will be watched closely as a economists predict that a multi-year strategy will be critical to restore the financial health of the City and State. The Chicago metropolitan area saw rapidly improving fundamentals in 2014, as CBD vacancy has fallen from 13.8 to 13.1 percent, and even Chicago’s beleaguered suburban office market has posted its lowest office vacancy level in six years. CHICAGO CBD For the third consecutive year, CBD office investments remain the top pick for global investors. While the so-called “gateway cities” continue to be favored, the demand for CBD assets in Chicago over the past year has exploded. Heated competition for assets in the coastal markets, coupled with very favorable market trends locally, has resulted in a banner year for CBD office building sales. Chicago continues to be recognized globally as one of the country’s most important financial and cultural centers and a key target market in office acquisitions. The CBD’s intangibles include: • A steady CBD population surge and employers’ awareness of this new demographic trend • Numerous new migrations of large tenants from the suburban office market • 27 companies have chosen to locate headquarters in Chicago since 2011 • 31 Fortune 500 firms are located in the MSA and eight of those are in Chicago proper • Chicago’s rapidly growing tech sector is transforming entire neighborhoods and restoring life into some of the city’s oldest buildings. Beyond economic statistics, there are several positive trends occurring that are fueling office investment activity in Chicago: • Net absorption and increasing rental rates are gaining momentum • Cheap and plentiful debt is available, and rates remain steady • Equity investors are less averse to risk and are seeking higher yield www.colliers.com/chicago RESEARCH REPORT | Q4 2014 | CHICAGO | INVESTMENT • Existing office building owners are readily seeking to capitalize on investor demand • There have been relatively few new construction deliveries in the region Many value-add buyers are repositioning their more traditional office space to appeal to the CBD’s robust technology sector that has emerged as a result of extremely tight fundamentals in the River North submarket. Tech firms have historically found River North appealing due to its less traditional space options, including brick and timber loft-style spaces. However, with little to no large blocks of creative space now available in the submarket, these companies will need to refocus their space search to include more traditional building types. This presents an opportunity for landlords to recruit these sizeable tenants into the CBD’s traditional buildings by offering more unique amenity packages. Fundamentals suggest that both tenants and landlords remain optimistic for the near term. Tenants with expirations as far out as 2020 are now actively seeking space, a sign of optimism about the future of their businesses. Additionally, that same confidence has been reflected by landlords who have responded to tenant demand by pushing rental rates upwards of 7.6 percent over the past year. Conversions Abound In 2014, we witnessed the continuation of a robust trend of buildings being converted or recycled into alternative uses, such as hotels or retail. Recent or ongoing conversions of office into hotel or residential include the Gibbons/Steger buildings (Infinite Student Housing) Old Colony building (Student Housing), 203 N. Wabash Avenue (Virgin Hotel), 100 W. Monroe Street (Hyatt Hotel), Chicago Motor Club (Hampton Inn), Oriental Theater office space (Multifamily), 11 S. LaSalle (Marriott), and 39 S. LaSalle (Kimpton Hotel). This trend of converting Class C office has reduced the supply and therefore is causing upward pressure on Class C rental rates. OLD COLONY BUILDING In another interesting adaptive re-use deal, Blue Star Properties acquired the 500,000 SF Chicago 407 S. DEARBORN STREET Public Schools headquarters building and intends to convert the building into loft-like space to serve the burgeoning tech and creative sectors. Chicago CBD office investments 2014 CBD Office Investment Activity totaled $4.5 billion in 2014, with Chicago CBD office investments totaled $4.4 billion in 2014, with another $800 million on the market another $800 million on the or scheduled to close. The implied total of $5.2 billion is an increase of almost 40 percent compared market or scheduled to close. to the $3.75 billion in sales transacted in 2013. The average price paid in 2014 equaled $279 per square foot compared to $228 per square foot in 2013. This number jumped due to the significant sale prices of Super Class A properties such as 300 North LaSalle Street ($652 per square foot) and 353 North Clark Street ($604 per square foot). Buyers remain eager to buy trophy office buildings in Chicago’s CBD. At year’s end, Chicago-based Heitman paid $715 million to Tishman Speyer for the 1.2-million-square-foot property at 353 North Clark Street. This was the Chicago CBD’s second- largest office trade in 2014, behind the June sale of 300 North LaSalle Street, wherein Irvine Co., of Newport Beach, CA paid $850 million to KBS Realty for the 1.3-million-square-foot tower. Investors also continue to purchase core-plus and value-add opportunities with large vacancies such as 311 West Monroe and 515 State Street (sale pending). As an example of buyers having an interest in acquiring deals with vacancy, Golub sold 311 West Monroe for $58 million to GlenStar Properties in a joint venture with Prudential. The major tenant BMO Harris will soon be vacating. The year ended on a high note with seven fourth quarter sales totaling over $1.4 billion. Deutsche Bank, in a joint venture with Lincoln Property Co., completed a very unique transaction with TIER REIT for the Fifth Third Center at 222 S. Riverside Drive. Deutsche Bank made a pre-emptive bid of $247 million before the property even came to market. As part of the purchase price, Deutsche reportedly transferred a Dallas office building to TIER. Manulife/John Hancock continued to be active in the CBD market by reportedly selling a majority interest in 191 N. Wacker Drive to Allianz as part of a two-property portfolio including an asset in Washington DC, and acquiring 55 West Monroe Street from The Hearn Company for $243 million. Meanwhile, Hearn acquired the 1.4 million-square-foot Three First National Plaza for $375 million from Korea Teachers Credit Union. P. 2 | COLLIERS INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH REPORT | Q4 2014 | CHICAGO | INVESTMENT Foreign investment continued to be a steady barometer of the health of the CBD investment market. Canada-based Manulife (operating in the U.S. as John Hancock) completed its fifth CBD transaction in four years with the two transactions mentioned earlier. One of Israel’s largest financial institutions paid $112 million for Harper Court, a retail and office complex master-leased by University of Chicago. Exhibiting the demand for quality assets with long term credit leases, the institution reportedly received dozens of offers in the low five percent cap rate range. Accesso Partners - formerly known as Beacon Investment Properties – primarily represents investors in South America and Israel, and continued its torrid pace of Chicago-area acquisitions by acquiring 200 and 230 West Monroe Street. With $4.4 billion of office properties having traded in Chicago in 2014, and another $.8 billion expected to sell in the first quarter of 2015, Chicago is expected to continue its robust trading activity. 2014 Chicago CBD building sales are summarized below. HARPER COURT SOLD FOR $501 PSF CHICAGO CBD SALES | 2014 NAME / VALUE SF PSF SELLER PURCHASER LOCATION 300 North LaSalle $850,000,000 1,302,901 $652 KBS REIT II Irvine Co 353 North Clark Street $715,000,000 1,184,000 $604 Tishman Speyer Heitman Korea Teachers CU Hearn Co JV GEM Three First National $374,800,000 1,439,367 $260 JV KFCC JV Gaw Realty JV Farallon Plaza Capital Capital Management China Cinda Asset Fremont Group Management Co 311 South Wacker $302,400,000 1,276,850 $237 JV Shorenstein Ltd JV Zeller Realty Properties Corp 191 N Wacker Dr $260,000,000 732,000 $355 Manulife Financial Allianz of America Deutsche Bank JV Fifth Third Center $247,000,000 1,184,432 $209 TIER REIT Lincoln Property Co Hearn Co JV Mount 55 West Monroe Street $243,750,000 803,046 $304 John Hancock Kellett 30 North LaSalle Street $237,500,000 909,245 $261 Tishman Speyer AmTrust Realty LaSalle OBO BVK 101 North Wacker $210,000,000 617,000 $340 Hines JV Universal- Investment Beacon Capital 180 N Lasalle St $126,000,000 767,605 $164 Berkley Properties Partners 230 West Monroe Office Lincoln Property Co $122,000,000 624,000 $196 Accesso Partners Tower JV PIMCO University of Harper Court $112,000,000 223,775 $501 Clal Insurance Chicago 203 North Lasalle Street HCI Capital AG JV $111,500,000 581,100 $192 Sumitomo Corp (13F-27F) M&J Wilkow Ltd Beacon Investment Farbman Group JV 200 West Monroe $100,000,000 535,911 $187 JV Harel Insurance Lubert-Adler 353 N.