NYC commercial sales at highest point in four years

Sales volume exceeded $6 billion

The third quarter of 2012 saw the largest number of commercial transactions in the city in the past four years, according to a report released today by PropertyShark. The tally accounts for a total of 914 sales — a 9 percent quarter-over-quarter increase and a 25 percent jump from the same period in 2011. The total sales volume was just over $6 billion — inching up 4 percent quarter-over-quarter, but marking a 36 percent year-over-year drop.

There were 26 transactions higher than $50 million in the third quarter, which accounted for $3.55 billion in sales volume. The report identifies the largest commercial transaction of the quarter as RXR Realty’s purchase of 450 Lexington Avenue for $720 million. The next most expensive commercial transaction was the $481 million sale of Citi Tower.

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Manhattan alone accounted for $4.52 billion in sales during the third quarter and remained the number-one borough in terms of sales volume. Broken down, Midtown came in first place on the neighborhood level with a close to $2 billion in sales volume — over double from the second quarter, though down 18 percent year-over-year. And thanks to the purchase of Citi Tower, Queens came in second with a total of $723 million in sales volume. Again, broken down by neighborhood, Hunters Point came in second due to the Citi Tower sale to Israeli investors.

The office market accounted for a total of $3.66 billion in sales volume, marking a 22 percent quarter-over-quarter climb and a 40 percent year-over-year fall. Multifamily saw $1.75 billion in sales volume, which is a 6 percent decrease from the second quarter and a 27 percent decline from the same period last year. — Zachary Kussin