NYC multifamily sales bounce back in September

Investors spent $1.2B on multifamily properties for the month

Ariel Property Advisors
(credit: Ariel Property Advisors)

Multifamily sales activity picked back up in September after a relatively slow month in August. Dollar volume for New York City properties nearly doubled from the prior month and totaled $1.2 billion in the final month of the quarter, according to the latest report from Ariel Property Advisors. Despite the increase, multifamily investors still purchased fewer properties and spent less in the third quarter compared to the prior quarter and year.

The number of sales across the city was up 32 percent in August and dollar volume rose 102 percent during this period, however sales remained below year-over-year levels.

Manhattan captured nearly a third of all sales and more than half of all dollar volume. Twenty-five buildings fetched a total of $618.8 million, a 268 percent jump in dollar volume from August. The $421 million sale of 63 and 67 Wall Street was largely responsible for this increase. The Rockpoint Group snapped up the two Downtown residential buildings for about $545,000 per unit from DTH Capital and Metro Loft Management.

In Northern Manhattan, the area saw just eight buildings trade for a combined $22.3 million. This was far fewer trades compared to the 36 building sales totaling $321 million in September 2015.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

Brooklyn led the way in terms of number of purchases, with 28 buildings selling for a combined $312 million. Building volume nearly doubled and dollar volume was up 82 percent since the previous quarter. There was little change in the number of sales and transactions compared to September 2015. One notable deal was the sale of three rental buildings at 196-194 Herkimer Street and 643 Madison Street in Bedford-Stuyvesant for $12.8 million, or $670 per square foot.

Queens had lighter activity in September. Sales from six rental buildings in the borough grossed $52.7 million, a 66 percent drop in dollar volume from August. Of the 131 units that traded in the borough, A&E Real Estate picked up 60 apartments at 37-33 Lawrence Street in Flushing for $14.3 million.

Investors purchased 16 multifamily buildings in the Bronx for a total of $178.2 million. The borough saw far more sales in the last four weeks of the third quarter than it had compared to the $20.1 million in sales in August and $29.7 million in sales during the same period last year.