Brooklyn multifamily sales soar in March

Brooklyn was booming with multifamily sales in March, with dollar volume totaling $683.1 million for the month, more than all multifamily sales in New York City during February, according to a report from Ariel Property Advisors.

Urban American’s 17-building, once-dubbed “King & Queens” portfolio, which traded for $236 million, helped propel the borough’s transaction and building volumes.

Fifty-eight multifamily buildings in Brooklyn traded between 27 transactions, and dollar volume was up nearly 325 percent year-over-year.

Overall New York City multi-family sales were strong in March. Sales across the boroughs totaled $1.8 billion, a 162 percent increase from the previous month and marked the third highest monthly dollar volume over the past twelve months.

After a lull in sales during the first two months of the year, volume picked up in March, with 170 buildings trading in 89 transactions throughout the city.

Although Manhattan’s sales volume fell shy of Brooklyn’s by $77.2 million, the borough had major closings including Thor Equities’ $179 million purchase of 30 Park Avenue.

In the Bronx, most transactions consisted of single-building sales. The Related Cos. picked up a rental building at 2001-20045 Story Avenue in Castle Hill, adding 355 units to its Bronx holdings.

The largest Queens sale was a 50-unit portfolio in the Auburndale neighborhood for $11.2 million. Throughout the borough, nine buildings sold in six transactions.