Photo courtesy of JLL
A Miami-based real estate investor made the first plunge into Boston’s chilly office investment sales market since early 2022 with the $41 million acquisition of a Financial District property.
Azora Exan Capital acquired 7 Post Office Square from Nuveen Real Estate, which paid $38 million for the 64,246-square-foot building in 2016.
The 7-story structure is 91 percent leased to eight tenants including anchor Fidelity Investments, which operates an investor center branch in the prominent ground-floor space facing Post Office Square.
JLL represented the seller and procured the buyer. The sales price equates to $638 per square foot.
In a statement, Azora Exan Managing Partner Ignacio Gil-Casares said the firm is seeking to buy trophy office buildings in prime locations in select markets.
Rising interest rates, uncertainty about post-pandemic office leasing demand and the effects on market rents and building valuations have largely put major investment sales on hold even for well-leased properties with credit tenants.
Asking rents for Boston office space declined 0.5 percent in the second quarter to $46.72 per square foot, according to JLL data. But class A rents increased and high-end buildings have withstood the disruption in workspace usage.
“This deal validates investor appetite for differentiated assets in the right location,” JLL Senior Managing Director Chris Angelone said in a statement.
