1. South Korea: Brookfield Puts Seoul Hotel Back on Market
Canadian private equity firm Brookfield Asset Management has placed up for sale a Hilton-branded hotel in South Korea after a prior attempt to sell the property fell through.
The 434-room Conrad Seoul is back on the market with an asking price of 1 trillion Korean won or about $750 million, according to South Korean business news site Korea JoonAng Daily. Brookfield in 2016 acquired the hotel in Seoul and its surrounding mixed-use office and retail development, known as International Financial Center Seoul. An attempt to sell the property in 2022 fell through after Korean government authorities opposed the prospective buyer’s financing arrangements.
2. UK: British Land Sells Big Portfolio of Data Centers, Offices
British Land sold a portfolio of data center and office properties for £125 million, as the real estate investment trust lined up 1.1 million square feet of new leasings at other buildings in its portfolio.
British Land declined to comment, but sources indicated that ICG, the global asset manager based in London, bought the portfolio of six London data centers and offices leased to telecom firm Vodafone, which British Land has been marketing through brokerage Savills. The Vodafone portfolio totals 260,000 square feet with leases expiring in April 2032.
3. Germany: Home Prices Drop at Historic Pace
Germany’s residential property purchase prices declined 9.9% on average in the second quarter from a year earlier, the sharpest annual drop since 2000, according to a report from the Federal Statistical Office.
The steep decrease came a year after prices reached all-time highs in the nation’s seven largest cities. Prices for owner-occupied apartments fell 9.8% and those for detached and semi-detached houses dropped 12.6%. In sparsely populated rural counties, prices for condominiums declined 7% and those for one- and two-family houses fell 8.1%.
4. France: Investment Firm Sells Prominent Paris Office Property
Real estate investment trust Covivio sold a prominent Paris office building for €230m to an undisclosed buyer, with sources indicating the new owner is French luxury goods maker Hermès.
Hermès previously preleased the entire 9,328-square-meter property, which dates back to the 1930s and is being redeveloped, at the beginning of 2022 under a 10-year lease. A Covivio statement said the sale “completes the asset management work carried out since the acquisition in 2006.”
5. Canada: Oxford Properties Opens Vancouver’s Tallest Office Tower
Developer Oxford Properties and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board this month opened Vancouver’s tallest and greenest office tower, even as they look to scale back their office footprint in the British Columbia city.
The 37-floor building known as The Stack stands 530 feet tall, with owners targeting prospective tenants aiming to convince workers to return to offices with cutting-edge and eco-friendly amenities. Owners are in the process of selling two other downtown Vancouver buildings, seeking to raise a reported $350 million, in what could be among the first big office deals since early last year in Canada’s struggling office market.
6. US: High-Tech Las Vegas Sphere Takes on Rival Venues
Developers are betting a giant ball that can be transformed into a blinking eyeball, a replica of the moon or any sort of living architecture is just the new entertainment venue the city needs.
Standing 366 feet tall, 516 feet wide and completely wrapped in video screens, the ball-shaped Las Vegas Sphere is an attention-grabber, even in the context of the visual overload of the Las Vegas Strip. The high-tech venue is set to open Friday with a concert by rock band U2.
This report was compiled from CoStar’s news publications in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France and Germany.