Source: Eastern ConsolidatedCommercial property sales volume ballooned to $2.35 billion last
quarter, up from $1.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2009, according
to the latest market report from Eastern Consolidated, released today.
Multi-family property sales volume, in particular, more than doubled.
Still, last quarter’s dollar volume is a far cry from that of the peak
of the market in the second quarter of 2007, when $20 billion in
Manhattan commercial properties were sold. Meanwhile, 1.1 million of
sublease space came off the market in the first quarter, which Eastern Consolidated said is
a “significant indicator of how firms feel about future space needs”
and “bodes well for the near future.” Overall, Manhattan’s available
office space declined by 1.05 million square feet during the first
quarter and asking rents dropped to $46.03 per square foot, from
$46.76 per square foot in a quarter earlier. The first quarter also
saw growth in the city’s employment sector, with 2,400 real estate
jobs added to the industry. TRD