Here’s how the NYC multifamily market fared in October

New York City finally saw a year-over-year gain in multifamily sales in October, although much of that growth was concentrated in Manhattan and the Bronx.

Overall, there were 38 transactions across 47 multifamily buildings in the city during October that totaled about $687 million, according to a new report from Ariel Property Advisors.

That was a sharp increase in volume from 12 months prior, when many buyers and sellers proceeded with caution ahead of the presidential election.

Manhattan saw $421 million in deals, accounting for 60 percent of the city’s overall volume. There were 16 transactions across 22 buildings in the borough — the highest numbers of the year in both categories — although dollar volume did drop 12 percent compared to September. The largest transaction in the borough was Starrett Corporation’s roughly $110 million sale of a 152-unit affordable housing complex at 341-363 West 50th Street.

Northern Manhattan — which Ariel groups separately and comprises the area north of East 96th and West 110th streets — saw lighter sales volume in October, with four transactions across six buildings trading for about $60 million. The largest deal was RCR Management’s roughly $33 million purchase of an 87-unit building at 825 West 187th Street.

The Bronx saw the largest gain in price compared to last year, with the price per square foot jumping 9.9 percent to $200 and price per unit increasing 14.7 percent to $182,415, according to the report. The borough’s dollar volume of roughly $107 million was nearly double that of the prior two months put together, with seven transactions across eight buildings. The largest deal was FBE Limited’s purchase of a 196-unit building at 2103 Honeywell Avenue for about $44 million.

It was the opposite story in Brooklyn, which was the only borough that did not see an increase in dollar volume compared to last October. There were eight transactions across eight buildings that took place in the submarket. Those properties sold for a total of about $58 million, which put an end to Brooklyn’s five-month streak of sales totaling more than $100 million.

Queens had a fairly slow month as well, seeing just three deals across three buildings for about $41 million. However, this was an increase compared to September, when the borough only had one transaction. The most noteworthy sale for October was the Pinnacle Group’s purchase of a 113-unit residential building in Rego Park at 97-25 64th Avenue.

(Check out TRData’s Deal Sheet for weekly multifamily sales transactions)