European business, consumer confidence up again

LONDON — Official data shows business and consumer confidence in the 16-nation euro zone has increased again in August.

Eurostat, the European Union's statistics agency, said Friday its measure of business sentiment rose to -2.21 points in August from -2.70 points the previous month. Improvements were particularly strong for production expectations and orders booked.

The figure is still weak, however — "even when compared to the previous historical lows of 1993" — suggesting that industrial production remains subdued, Eurostat said.

The wider Economic Sentiment Indicator showed that its measure of consumer confidence also improved in August, to -22 points from -23 points in July.

For the 27-nation European Union, consumer confidence likewise improved marginally, to -20 from -21.

Commercial real estate deals off, prices up !

Commercial real estate sales in metro Denver dropped 68 percent to $1.68 billion for the 12 months ended June 30, from the same period last year, according to a recent report by LoopNet Inc.

Though overall sales volume was down period over period, selling prices per square foot in some property categories actually increased, often countering the national trend.

Metro-area office buildings, for example, sold for an average of $194 per foot during the recent 12-month period, compared to $165 a foot for the prior period. Per-square-foot selling prices nationwide, on the other hand, dropped during those periods — to $227 from $251.

Average selling prices for industrial buildings such as warehouses and distribution centers also rose — to $72 per square foot in the 12 months through June from $63 a foot for the previous 12-month period. Similar prices nationwide dropped in those periods, to $68 from $73.

LoopNet, an online commercial property listing service, included sales of office, industrial, retail and apartment properties of more than $2.5 million in its Denver-area data.

Here’s what local sales performance looked like, comparing the 12-month periods, by building type.

Office properties:

• $677 million in total sales volume, compared to $2.42 billion in sales for the prior-year period.

• Downtown Denver’s total sales volume ($469 million) topped suburban sales ($208 million).

• Leading buyers of office buildings included Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. (NYSE: JLL), HRPT Properties Trust (NYSE: HRP) and GDA Real Estate Services LLC.

• Leading sellers included Broadreach Capital Partners LLC, Transwestern Investment Co. and JPMorgan Chase & Company (NYSE: JPM).

• Top lenders for office deals included Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS), Wachovia Corp. and FirstBank of South Jeffco.

• Biggest sales were the World Trade Center ($157.8 million/$206 per square foot), Seventeenth Street Plaza ($134.3 million/$201 psf) and Regency Plaza ($55.5 million/$179 psf).

Industrial properties:

• $261 million in total sales volume, down from $694 million period over period.

• Biggest sales included 345 Inverness Drive South ($25.7 million/$145 psf) and ProLogis Park 70/Building 8 ($19.3 million/$54 psf).

• Top buyers of industrial properties included Hines Interests LP, TA Associates Realty and JMDH Real Estate LLC.

• Major sellers included SVN Equities LLC, First Industrial Realty Trust Inc. (NYSE: FR) and Denver-based ProLogis (NYSE: PLD).