Even in Bankruptcy Buyers & Sellers Disagree

If you (like myself and many others) thought Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy would force them to sell off real estate assets at fire-sale prices think again. Even under the pressure of a very public meltdown Lehman was able to bargain with Barclay's to split the difference between two different appraised values on Lehman's million-square-foot, 7th Avenue Manhattan headquarters. An appraisal prepared for Lehman Brothers valued the building at $1.02 billion while Barclay's appraisal came in at $900 million.

This is a scenario we've been seeing a lot of in the markets in general, and until transaction volume picks up and the economy achieves some level of short-term stability we won't be surprised to see more and more variation among appraisals and values in general.

Llenrock Group