Bronx dollar volume dropped by 20% in first half of 2018: report

Property volume in the Bronx is going up, but dollar volume in the borough is going down.

The Bronx saw 157 transactions across 275 properties worth about $952 million during the first half of 2018, according to a new report from Ariel Property Advisors. This was a 20 percent drop in dollar volume compared to the second half of 2017 and an 8 percent drop compared to the first half of 2017. (The report includes all deals in the borough that went for $1 million or more.)

Property volume fared better, increasing by 21 percent compared to the second half of 2017 and 20 percent compared to the first half, while transaction volume rose by 3 percent compared to the second half and 1 percent compared to the first.

The decline in dollar volume is largely due to fewer transactions trading for more than $10 million, according to the report. In 2017, 20 percent of Bronx deals were for $10 million or more, while in the first half of 2018, only 13 percent of deals were above the $10 million mark.

It should increase more during the second half of the year due to the anticipated closing of Brookfield Properties’ $165 million purchase of 101 Lincoln Avenue and 2401 Third Avenue from Somerset Partners and the Chetrit Group.

Much of the activity during the first half of the year was concentrated in the South Bronx, which saw 77 deals across 122 properties worth about $431 million, the highest number in every category. The Northwest Bronx was a distant second in each category with 35 deals across 76 properties for about $349 million.

Multifamily deals were the most common type in the Bronx during the first half of the year, comprising 63 percent of the borough’s dollar volume and 58 percent of its transaction volume. They also increased from the second half of 2017 by every metric, with dollar volume rising 14 percent to about $600 million, transaction volume rising 21 percent to 92 and property volume rising 40 percent to 153.

Development deals were in second place across the board with about $183 million in dollar volume across 39 transactions and 79 buildings. However, they comprised much less of the overall total, making up 19 percent of dollar volume and 25 percent of transaction volume.

The largest multifamily deal during the first half of the year was Related Companies’ sale of its 12-building, 368-unit portfolio for $71 million to Taconic Investment Partners. Another notable transaction was ABJ Properties’ roughly $61.5 million purchase of Emerald Equity Group’s 14-building, 288-unit portfolio.