Will a property sales price record raise the rest of Dallas' skyline values?

When German investors paid a record $504 per square foot for the 2000 McKinney office tower Uptown in 2016, Dallas' real estate market was on almost every investor's radar.

Last week's sale of the new 1900 Pearl office high-rise in downtown Dallas blew past that old record with a sales price almost 40 percent higher.

The $700-per-square-foot price tag on the Arts District tower raises the Dallas real estate market to a new level.

But does the rising tide lift all buildings?

"Setting new pricing highs does benefit the overall market as it raises the price-per-square-foot ceiling that investors look at for all property classes relative to acquisition price and future sales," said Andrew Levy, senior managing director with HFF.

Levy said rising commercial property prices in Dallas reflect the higher incomes owners are getting from the buildings.

"The recent buildings that are selling have in-place rental rates that are 30 to 40% higher than the buildings that established the previous highs," Levy said.

Sales prices for prime office properties have steadily increased and show no sign of heading down.

Also in 2016, the 19-story 17Seventeen McKinney office tower in Uptown sold for an estimated $510 per square foot.

And up in Plano's hot Legacy area, the Legacy Tower office high-rise fetched more than $400 per square foot and the Granite Park VII office tower sold to German investors last year for more than $500.

Of course the top prices are all on trophy buildings.

There are plenty of value-add buys on the market in Dallas.

Some of the downtown towers still up for grabs in Big D are likely to fetch less than $150 per square foot — far below today's construction costs.

"The 1900 Pearl record sale price comes at a time when a lot of high-profile trophy assets are coming to market," said veteran Dallas broker Scot Farber of Younger Partners. "It will be interesting to see what the pricing of some of the other buildings comes in at.

"Dallas continues to receive national and international attention, and investment groups are continually adding the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex to their lists of where they would like to invest."

There are certainly lots of options for building buyers. Five more downtown towers are still on the market.

The flood of capital coming into the North Texas real estate market ensures that there will be lots of tire-kickers for properties on the market — especially offshore buyers.

"As far as international capital, there is definitely an increased level of interest in the D-FW market," said JLL's Jorg Mast. "The Toyota location has put us on the map globally, especially as it relates to Asian investors."