Northern Manhattan’s Investment Sales Volume Skyrockets in First Half of 2024
By Isabelle Durso August 9, 2024 12:36 pm
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Investment sales in Northern Manhattan have jumped significantly so far this year, driven largely by two major sales.
Northern Manhattan saw a total of 45 transactions in the first half of the year, adding up to $546.1 million in dollar volume, a 63 percent increase compared to the same period in 2023, according to an Ariel Property Advisors report.
“Investment sales activity in Northern Manhattan showed strong improvement compared to the second half of 2023 driven in large part by two large sales,” Mike Tortorici, a founding partner at Ariel, said in a statement.
Those two deals were a dormitory-turned-migrant-shelter at 1760 Third Avenue for $172 million, which will be turned into low income housing, and another dormitory sold by The Riverside Church at 97 Claremont Avenue for $38 million.
Four of the 45 total transactions traded above $25 million and totaled $339 million, accounting for 62 percent of the total dollar volume, the report found.
However, development site sales in Northern Manhattan — which includes Harlem, Washington Heights and Inwood — were scarce this year. Only four development sites, valued at $37.3 million, traded in the first half of 2024, marking the lowest transaction and dollar volume since 2011. The average price per square foot was $153, according to the report.
The report said that Urban Resource Institute’s recent purchase of 487 West 129th Street may be a strong sign of what’s to come for development pricing in Northern Manhattan, given its prime location near Columbia University. The vacant 153,000-square-foot site sold in June for $25.9 million.
Ariel expects an uptick in development transactions going into 2025, as the brokerage already has three development sites in contract since April.
As for multifamily transactions in Northern Manhattan, there were 35 total deals valued at $249 million during the first half of this year — a 59 percent increase in deal volume compared to 2023.
Rent-stabilized assets accounted for 62 percent of the total multifamily transactions, with the largest rent-stabilized sale being Bronstein Properties’ $290 million recapitalization of a 43-building portfolio split between Northern Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. Northern Manhattan accounts for approximately $102 million of the portfolio, according to the report.
Isabelle Durso can be reached at idurso@commercialobserver.com.
