Multi-family home sales took a dip in August, according to Ariel Property Advisors’ monthly report on multi-family sales provided exclusively to The Real Deal.
The number of multi-family transactions in New York City dropped three percent in August 2013 compared to the same time one year ago. A total of 59 transactions, comprised of 85 buildings totaling $456.765 million happened in New York City in August. That compares to 61 transactions comprised of 88 buildings totaling $594.020 million in the same month one year prior.
The total in gross consideration was a 58 percent tumble from July’s $1.107 billion, which saw 60 transactions comprised of 109 buildings, buoyed by the $600 million sale of Westbrook Partners’ residential portfolio to Ziel Feldman.
“Since the end of the first quarter, we’ve seen the multifamily sales market steadily improve and pricing indicators rise throughout the city,” Shimon Shkury, president of Ariel Property, said in a statement. “Taken together, the July and August figures reinforce our expectation that this trend will continue.”
Not surprisingly, Manhattan led the charge with $173.235 million in sales, a 75 percent percent drop from July’s $700.675 million. The sub-market saw 17 transactions comprised of 24 buildings.
But Brooklyn’s 16 transactions were nothing to sniff at. The 24 buildings that sold totaled $78.431 million — an increase on both a monthly and year-over-year basis. A 32,000-square-foot elevator building at 54-66 Livingston Street in Brooklyn Heights that sold for $13.25 million was a notable sale in the borough.
On the opposite end, Queens saw a dip from standout July sales, racking up only two multi-family transactions totaling $5.184 million in August, a number roughly in line with figures from a year previous.
The average monthly transaction volume rose to 56 transactions per month for the six months ended in August 2013, with the six-month average dollar volume jumping to $677.132 million from $642.609 million in the previous month. — Julie Strickland