APF Properties sells 1414 Avenue of the Americas for $120.5 million

Riding what may be the crest of a surging commercial real estate investment market, APF Properties is selling Manhattan's 1414 Ave. of the Americas office building for $120.5 million, or around $912 per s/f. APF Properties, a real estate investor with properties in New York, Philadelphia and Germany, has the 19-story/132,000 s/f tower under contract to David Werner and Murray Hill Properties. The transaction is scheduled to close on October 16, 2007. "The objective of this sale is to realign our portfolio and, most importantly, increase liquidity for our investors," said APF Properties principal Berndt Perl. Now is the time to effect these changes, he saidº, "Because the prevailing deal climate - marked by ultra-low cap rates, very aggressive leasing and growth assumptions, cheap debt and bottomless sources of equity - may well be getting ready to change." The sale of this building notwithstanding, "We continue to believe in the underlying strength of the commercial real estate market in Manhattan," said APF Properties principal Kenneth Aschendorf, "And we still hold a large number of investments here to enable us to take full advantage of favorable developments. Nothing has changed over the past few weeks, New York City is still the world's financial capital." The Manhattan market has been very good to APF Properties. The firm acquired 1414 Avenue of the Americas from SL Green Realty Corp. in 2005 for $60.3 million, or $457 per square foot, and is essentially doubling its money with this sale. "We achieved our pricing goal of getting top dollar for this asset," said Aschendorf, "Thanks largely to its location, and in spite of the current crisis in the financial markets."