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I-sales down 44% this year, but some say 2018 looks much brighter
Cushman’s Bob Knakal predicts sales volumes will rise next year
UPDATED, Dec. 11, 5:56 p.m.: Investment sales are expected to be down by 44 percent by the end of the year, though there are signs that 2018 could be much sunnier.
Cushman & Wakefield estimates the city will record roughly $32.5 billion worth of sales by the end of the year, down about 44 percent from last year’s total of $57.8 billion, Crain’s reported.
Bob Knakal, Cushman’s chair of investment sales in New York, said he believes that transactions will pick up next year, and that recently activity “has been tremendous.”
“For the past two months it was fun to be a sales broker again,” Knakal said. “All of this recent activity is positive for 2018.”
Cushman’s data show that land prices fell 17 percent this year, retail is down 8 percent, office space declined by 4 percent, elevator apartment buildings fell 3 percent and walk-up multifamily buildings declined 1 percent.
“We have been in the midst of a quintessential correction,” Knakal said. “What happened is downward pressure got exerted on value and bids came in lower than sellers wanted to accept, and so the number of transactions declined.” [Crain’s] – Rich Bockmann
Correction: A previous version of this post incorrectly characterized Bob Knakal’s prediction on the 2018 investment-sales market. He said deal volumes would rise, not pricing.