The 348,000 sf Class A 1320/1390 Willow Pass Road, Concord, California Office Building Sale at $58/rsf May Affect Values for Years to Come

I’ve been speaking with commercial real estate appraisers about this recent sale and the impact it will have on future office building financings, refinances and sales. This is an official comp that will be hard to ignore, and will make it mch harder to prove to a buyer or lender that your similar Class A well-located 73% leased office building is worth substantially more in today’s environment. There are few lenders interested in financing these properties, and with tenant demand at a near all-time low with no rebound in sight it is not clear when the office market will recover. When I mentioned to one very-experienced commercial real estate appraiser that I thought the current employee return-to-office would go from its current 50% to 70% over the next few years due to increased employer mandates and then level off, he disagreed and mentioned an Apple petition that had 1,100 signatures opposing the company mandate to return to the office. I could not verify this petition but I have heard this occurring in a number of organizations. So non-profits and owner-users, call me because now is the time to purchase your own office building for pennies on the dollar!!