2014 NYC Building Sales Outpacing 1Q 2013 by $3B
By Lauren Elkies Schram March 7, 2014 12:30 pm
reprintsThe New York City investment sales market is on fire this year, with the first two months of 2014 trouncing the first quarter of last year in dollar volume, according to a new report from Massey Knakal Realty Services provided to Commercial Observer. The sales volume hit $6.7 billion in January and February, up $3 billion from the first three months of 2013.
In January and February there were two deals that exceeded $1 billion including the Time Warner Center sale. Transactions are moving at a much faster clip than last year. There were only four $1 billion-plus deals in all of 2013 (the partial sale of the GM Building; 30 Rockefeller Plaza; 650 Madison Avenue and 550 Madison Avenue).
Given the sales figures for the start of 2014, Massey Knakal expects first-quarter sales to reach $19.4 billion, surpassing the $14.7 billion spent in the fourth quarter of last year.
The distribution of building sales is shifting more to the outer boroughs.
Eighteen percent of the building sales in January and February were in Manhattan, compared with 21 percent in the first quarter of 2013. Brooklyn was home to the majority of buildings sold with 341 in the first two months of the year, accounting for 41 percent of property sales citywide, up from 38 percent in 2013.
And the first quarter is expected to break records with more than 1,500 investment properties sold, representing the largest ever figure seen in a first quarter for New York City.
