New York City’s multifamily market slowed over the last six months of 2016 and January continued that trend.
Dollar and deal volume fell sharply relative to December, except in the Bronx, where dollar volume held steady. Overall, 64 multifamily buildings traded hands in January in a total of 45 deals for a total of $560.5 million, a 73 percent drop from the previous month, according to a new report by Ariel Property Advisors [TRDataCustom].
The decline is in line with the downward trend over 2016, particularly in the second half of the year. An analysis of the trailing six-month average for dollar volume in the last 12 months shows a sharp drop-off after June 2016 and a downward trend through January 2017. Pricing however continued to rise, showing gains in price per square foot in all markets except for Brooklyn.
In Manhattan, there were 13 deals totaling $159 million. One noteworthy transaction was restaurateur Robert Malta’s purchase of a 12-unit walk-up at 328-330 West 46th Street in Hell’s Kitchen for $12.5 million, or $1,416 per square foot. Another was the sale of a 28-unit walk up at 114-116 East 7th Street in the East Village for $13.8 million, or $684 per square foot.
Northern Manhattan and Queens saw the steepest declines in dollar volume, dropping 89 and 85 percent from December respectively. Northern Manhattan saw a total of $61.6 million across six deals, including Itzhaki Acquisitions’ purchase of a 45-unit rental building at 109 East 102nd Street for $14.7 million, or $488 million per square foot. In Queens, six buildings traded for $40.8 million, including a 16-unit Sunnyside walk-up at 41-52 49th Street, with a price tag of $4.55 million or $517 per square foot.
Brooklyn’s decline was a more modest 15 percent, for a total of $249.8 million, and it was the only market to see an increase relative to January 2016. One of the 22 buildings traded was a 135-unit rental building in Sheepshead Bay. Brooklyn-based investor Seymour Nierenberg paid $37 million for the property at 1245 Avenue X, or $297 per square foot. In Bedford-Stuyvesant, a 21-unit building at 1449 Fulton Street sold for $416 per square foot.
In the Bronx, dollar volume stayed flat at $50 million. In one noteworthy transaction, two buildings in Highbridge at 65 Jesup Place and 1465 Jesup Avenue sold for $14.5 million, or $297 per square foot.