The investment sales market in the Bronx held steady in 2018, with multifamily portfolio trades and development site sales accounting for more than half of the year’s volume.
Overall, the borough saw $2.05 billion of activity across 312 deals and 511 buildings, according to a new report from Ariel Property Advisors. This was an 8 percent decrease in dollar volume, a 1 percent increase in deal volume and a 12 percent increase in building volume from 2017.
The multifamily sector was the most active with 176 sales across 288 buildings for a total of roughly $1.22 billion. This was a 19 percent increase in sales volume, a 33 percent increase in building volume and a 1 percent decrease in dollar volume compared to 2017.
A large number of portfolio deals helped to boost the segment’s property volume, including the $75 million sale of an 11-building, 343-unit portfolio in West Farms from Black Spruce Properties to Camber Property Group, Belveron Partners and the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development.
Development sites had a strong year in the borough, accounting for 24 percent of its total dollar volume. Transaction volume increased by 26 percent to hit 72 sales, while dollar volume increased by 114 percent to hit $498 million. However, this was largely because of the $165 million sale of 2401 Third Avenue and 101 Lincoln Avenue in Mott Haven to Brookfield from the Chetrit Group and Somerset Partners.
Fordham was the top Bronx neighborhood by number of properties traded at 54, followed by Mott Haven at 31 and Longwood at 29. The South Bronx was the top region by dollar volume, transaction volume and building volume at about $375 million, 37 and 65, respectively.
Ariel’s outlook for the Bronx in 2019 was almost exactly similar to its outlook for Northern Manhattan. The expiration of New York’s rent regulation laws could decrease demand for buildings with rent regulated units, while the Opportunity Zone program and the Jerome Avenue rezoning could help demand stay strong.
“The Jerome Avenue rezoning has been a major boon for the borough,” Jason Gold, a director at Ariel Property Advisors, said in a statement, “and the Bronx’s development market is on the cusp of reaping even more benefits due to the Opportunity Zone program.”