Asking rents in the Manhattan office leasing market continued to rise in January while vacancy rates tightened, even as total activity appeared to slow from last year’s overall brisk pace, data from commercial services firm Cassidy Turley shows.
“It certainly seems slower than normal, but some major deals were done,” Robert Sammons, vice president for research at Cassidy Turley, said. [more]
The pace of New York City multi-family sales remained strong in September, according to a report from Ariel Property Advisors released today, with 41 transactions citywide, totaling $402 million.
There was a 31 percent increase in the number of buildings sold in September compared with August, but a 9 percent dip in dollar volume, the report notes. The number of buildings sold was almost double the number sold in September 2010, when 24 buildings worth a total of $204 million traded.
“The steady activity through September suggests the multi-family market is poised for a strong finish through the end of the year,” said Shimon Shkury, president of Ariel Property Advisors. – Katherine Clarke [more]
Sales of Staten Island one- and two-family homes shot up significantly between July and September, according to new statistics from the Staten Island Board of Realtors, with the rolling average for the three months showing a 16.3 percent increase in sales over the same period in 2010.
Listings going into contract increased in September, compared to August, by 21 percent, with listing prices down an average of 1.7 percent.
However, the median home price in the borough declined 3.8 percent in the month of September compared with the same period in 2010. The median closing price for a one-family home was $298,000 in 2011, compared with $323,500 in 2010. – Katherine Clarke [more]
New York City’s renters are racing for an increasingly limited supply of multi-bedroom units, according to an inaugural quarterly rental market report by RentJuice, with only 36 percent of listed New York City apartments containing two bedrooms or more.
The average price to lease a New York City home is $3,267 per month, but renters are paying $7,782 on average for a unit in west Soho, Manhattan’s most expensive area, RentJuice’s data shows. Other pricey neighborhoods include Tribeca, Central Park South and Battery Park City, which have monthly rents averaging $7,782, $5,151 and $4,159 respectively, according to the report.
If a renter is seeking multiple bedrooms, Brooklyn may be the obvious choice. — Katherine Clarke [more]
The total number of residential listings fell 19 percent nationwide in August, compared to the same period in 2010, according to data from Realtor.com. There were 2,267,327 residential units listed in the United States in August, which represented a 1.9 percent drop from July. New York City inventory fell just 2.4 percent in the same period. The average listing price for U.S. properties was $320,325, an increase of 2.6 percent from August 2010. The data also shows the average U.S. property has been on the market for 103 days. — Alexander Britell
[more]
According to Colliers ABR report for June, vacancy rates for Class A office
space in Manhattan
saw a decrease of 10 basis points for the first time in a year. Also, the
average asking rent increased for Class A space, jumping a modest $0.14 to
$65.57 per square foot. However, the report, released today, also notes that
these signs of improvement for the commercial sector could be slowed by the
struggling larger economy and housing market. Factors including low consumer
spending rates, the still high unemployment rate, and the high risk of
commercial mortgage defaults, may all be a drag on the commercial real estate
market in coming months, specifically the office space sector, according to the
report. Also, big blocks of space in Lower Manhattan
may return to the market soon, which will raise vacancy rates even higher, the
report says. TRD
Prices of existing single-family homes nationwide showed record declines last year, according to S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices. The December report, released today, shows that in the fourth quarter, home prices fell 18.2 percent compared to the same period in 2007, the largest drop in the past 21 years. Since the data does not include condo or co-op units, the report primarily reflects home prices in the outer boroughs, Westchester County, Connecticut and New Jersey. In New York, the report found, home prices were down 9.2 percent in the fourth quarter compared to the prior year. And between November and December 2008, prices fell 1.7 percent. TRD [more]
