‘S.F. is Not a Market Investors Want To Be In’ As Two Commercial Buildings Are Pulled From Sale

San Francisco Chronicle (September 2, 2022) For the past two years commercial real estate observers have wondered what the pandemic, and the work-from-home revolution it unleashed, would do to property values in San Francisco’s financial district. Now there’s at least an early inkling of an answer — and it is not pretty. The office building sales market is stuck in a bit of a pickle: Buyers and sellers are unable to come to terms because of a lack of solid comps, but there will not be reliable comps until a few properties are sold, according to attorney Tony Natsis, chair of Allen Matkins’ Global Real Estate Group. “We don’t have a dip, we have a complete standstill,” said Natsis, who represents some of the biggest office landlords and developers in California. “There is a classic disconnect between buyers and sellers about what those buildings are worth. The problem is that there are not enough data points to force the buyer or the seller to admit their number is wrong.” Natsis said he expects the picture to become clearer this fall as more companies settle on work-from-home policies. Read more.