Staten Island stands out amid I-sales slump

Staten Island and certain pieces of land bucked the slumping investment-sales trend during the first half of the year, according to the Real Estate Board of New York.

The total dollar volume of commercial real estate sales in New York checked in at $18 billion during the first six months of 2017, down from $29.5 billion during the same time last year, the Wall Street Journal reported.

But sales on Staten Island grew 61 percent to $300 million, and the number of deals climbed 23 percent to 190, according to the REBNY, which crunched the numbers.

The priciest deal during the first half was the $67 million sale of a 2.1 million-square-foot plot of land south of the Goethals Bridge.

Sales of garages, gas stations and vacant land saw the number of deals climb 25 percent to 506, but the total dollar volume of those deals dipped 46 percent to $919 million. That suggests that the properties sold at a lower price compared to last year.

“The transactions going up shows the universe of sites investors are looking at has expanded,” REBNY analyst Max Haight said.

The 6 percent overall dip in the number of deals across the city suggests that investors are uncertain and capital is pulling back, according to REBNY senior vice president Michael Slattery.

Office deals declined 40 percent to $7.3 billion, despite the blockbuster sale of 245 Park Avenue for $2.21 billion. Multifamily elevator buildings saw dollar volumes decrease 51 percent to $1.9 billion.

“There is a slowdown in activity, certainly in terms of high-priced sales,” Slattery said. [WSJ] – Rich Bockmann