The 10 Most Expensive Commercial Real Estate Transactions in LA County – Q2 2017

The following is a list of the ten most expensive commercial real estate (CRE) purchases in LA County. The list was compiled from information obtained from CoStar, and includes buildings in office, mixed-use, multifamily and hospitality categories. Transactions include property sold only in the second quarter, between April 1 and June 30, 2017.

10. NORWALK: Metro Pointe
11615 E. Firestone Blvd., Norwalk, CA 90650
$69.5 MILLION

Google Maps

Buyer: Kort & Scott Financial Group
Total space: 271,567 sq. ft. (249 units)
Price per square foot: $255.92 (Price per unit: $279,116)
Year completed: 1989
Date sold: 04/12/17
Category: Multifamily

Beginning this list is Metro Pointe Apartments in Norwalk, near the southeastern border of Los Angeles County. Some of the amenities available to residents are a full indoor racquetball court, indoor basketball half-court and billiards room.

9. SANTA MONICA: Office Building
429 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90401
$77 MILLION

CoStar

Buyer: Douglas Emmett & Qatar Investment Authority
Total space: 86,954 sq. ft.
Price per square foot: $885.53
Year completed: 1982
Date sold: 04/26/17
Category: Office, Class A

The new owners of this property are familiar to many locals in CRE, as they have many investments in the area. It looks like Qatar Investment Authority will be making more purchases in the country & region, as they expect to invest $35 billion in North America over years, according to the press release announcing their acquisitions.

8. GLENDALE: Brand Boulevard Center
450 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale, CA 91203
$89.2 MILLION

CoStar

Buyer: Kennedy-Wilson Properties
Total space: 270,716 sq. ft.
Price per square foot: $329.48
Year completed: 1999
Date sold: 05/24/17
Category: Office, Class A

Built in 1999, Brand Boulevard Center is a class A office building in Glendale. Some of the tower’s notable tenants include DineEquity (franchises & operates IHOP & Applebee’s restaurants) and Learner’s Digest International.

7. TORRANCE: Park Anza
23418-23818 Anza Ave., Torrance, CA 90505
$96 MILLION

CoStar

Buyer: Rockpoint Group & Coastline Real Estate Advisors
Total space: 324,450 sq. ft. (239 units)
Price per square foot: $295.89 (Price per unit: $401,673)
Year completed: 1967
Date sold: 06/30/17
Category: Multifamily

Park Anza is a 239-unit property in Torrance, consisting of 51 craftsman-style buildings that span many city blocks. The seller of the property, Don Wilson Builders, developed the properties and has owned & operated them since the 60s.

6. DOWNTOWN: Oakwood Olympic & Olive
1001 S. Olive St., Los Angeles, CA 90015
$110 MILLION

CoStar

Buyer: R&B Realty Group
Total space: 186,679 sq. ft. (201 units)
Price per square foot: $589.25 (Price per unit: $547,264)
Year completed: 2017
Date sold: 04/24/17
Category: Multifamily

South Park and its neighboring areas had many spots on this quarter’s list, like Oakwood Olympic & Olive. This is a 201 unit property, and offers 75 studios, 101 one-bedroom, and 25 two-bedroom units.

5. LITTLE TOKYO: Doubletree by Hilton Los Angeles Downtown
120 S. Los Angeles St., Los Angeles, CA 90012
$115 MILLION

CoStar

Buyer: Han’s 28 Hospitality LLC
Total space: 316,289 sq. ft. (434 rooms)
Price per square foot: $363.59 (Price per room: $264,977)
Year completed: 1978, renovated 2007
Date sold: 06/27/17
Category: Hospitality

Han’s 28 Hospitality, a Chinese company, purchased the 21-story Doubletree hotel in Little Tokyo for over $264,000 per key. The seller was UBS Realty, which purchased the hotel in 2011 for $45 million, a little over a third of what it sold for.

4. DOWNTOWN: Met Lofts
1050 S. Flower St., Los Angeles, CA 90015
$128.5 MILLION

CoStar

Buyer: Berkshire Group
Total space: 269,786 sq. ft. (266 units)
Price per square foot: $476.30 (Price per unit: $483,083)
Year completed: 2006
Date sold: 05/23/17
Category: Multifamily/Mixed-Use

A block away from Staples Center & LA Live, Met Lofts is a mixed-use building right in the middle of the action. Some of the amenities include a lap pool, gym, yoga deck & outdoor entertainment area with movie projector.

3. BURBANK: Burbank Empire Center
2300 W. Empire Ave., Burbank, CA 91504
$133.2 MILLION

CoStar

Buyer: New York Life Real Estate Investors
Total space: 351,300 sq. ft.
Price per square foot: $379.21
Year completed: 2009
Date sold: 05/30/17
Category: Office, Class A

Burbank Empire Center is a Class A office building a few blocks away from the 5 freeway. It is right next to a shopping center that includes a Target, Lowe’s, Staples, Nordstrom Rack & Best Buy.

2. LOS ANGELES: Sunset Las Palmas
1040 N. Las Palmas Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90038
$200 MILLION

CoStar

Buyer: Hudson Pacific Properties
Total space: 369,000 sq. ft.
Price per square foot: $542.01
Year completed: 1927
Date sold:  05/01/17
Category: Specialty - Production Studio

The media & entertainment campus was purchased by Hudson Pacific Properties, which developed Sunset Gower + Sunset Bronson studios, about a mile away. They expect to redevelop the property and will “create a vibrant place where creativity, technology and digital media connect,” according to CoStar.

1. SANTA MONICA: Wilshire Palisades
1299 Ocean Ave., Santa Monica, CA 90401
$285 MILLION

CoStar

Buyer: Douglas Emmett & Qatar Investment Authority
Total space: 205,713 sq. ft.
Price per square foot: $1,385
Year completed: 1980
Date sold: 04/26/17
Category: Office, Class A

At $285 million, the sale of this 11-story office building in Santa Monica is the most expensive property sold in Q2 in Los Angeles County. Like #8, the property was sold to Douglas Emmett & Qatar’s sovereign fund. Trading for $1,385 per square foot, this breaks the price per square foot in the city.

Note: This list does not include transactions for properties that have been recapitalized or partial interest transfers. Ranking is current as of date of publication.

VIDEO: Is Your Equity Working for You or Are You Working for It?

This week, George Pino talks about a client that increased their return on equity by changing CRE investment strategy. 

Is Your Equity Working for You or Are You Working for It?

When talking to clients many times they tell me that their investment is doing very well for them. However, they are basing this on what they paid for their property, not on the equity they have built up. For instance, a recent client purchased a 10 unit apartment building almost 30 years ago for $275,000.  Their Net Operating Income (NOI) for this property was about $85,000 a year. This sounds like a good return, until you take into account that they have completely depreciated the building, and the investment is now worth close to $2,400,000. This equates to about a 3.0% return on their equity.

When we took a look at their investment, and looked at it from the perspective of return on equity, it doesn’t look nearly as good as if they considered alternative investments.  We worked with the client to sell it and then coordinated a 1031 exchange. A 1031 exchange is a tax vehicle that allows someone to sell a property and exchange the proceeds into another property without paying any capital gains. There are rules to this, and by being very careful we were able to locate an exchange property within the proper time frames.

By utilizing the power of leverage, we were able to increase the NOI by almost 242%. How did we do this? First off, the NOI increase was based upon a larger purchase that required leverage, so the net income would be impacted a little. We then took advantage of the hot apartment market in Los Angeles, and sold their asset for just above $2,400,000. We then took the proceeds to purchase a single tenant NNN property for just under $4,000,000. This also increased their tax basis by $1,600,000, allowing for up to $40,000 in additional annual depreciation. Even with a small mortgage, by utilizing the strength of leverage, with today’s low rates, our client was able to achieve a net income before taxes that was almost 41% higher than the net income they experienced with their previous property. After tax benefits, our client will likely achieve returns that are between 50% and 55% higher than what they received previously, this is actual cash in pocket!

Before you decide on whether your investment is giving you a good return, be sure to look at all of the aspects, including alternative investments. By doing so, you’ll be sure to maximize your return, while possibly reducing any management headaches as well!