Manhattan Sees Strongest Quarter of Property Sales Since 2021: Report

A burning desire for high-quality assets has helped Manhattan reach its strongest quarter of property sales deals since 2021, Commercial Observer has learned. 

During the first quarter of 2026, Manhattan asset deals — including deals in the multifamily, office, retail, development and conversions sectors — grew by 33 percent quarter-over-quarter, totaling $3.7 billion across 92 transactions, according to a new report from Avison Young. Going off that success, Manhattan’s total predicted dollar sales volume for 2026 is $14.8 billion, a 23 percent year-over-year growth when compared to 2025’s total. (Avison Young projects full-year totals based on first-quarter activity.)

“Manhattan really, really jumped off the charts,” Brandon Polakoff, principal and head of New York investment sales at Avison Young, told CO. “This echoes what we are seeing in the market, where there is this flight to quality assets in A-plus-plus locations.” 

Multifamily property sales in Manhattan hit a total of $1.07 billion in the first quarter of 2026, a whopping 246 percent quarter-over-quarter rise across 44 deals. Multifamily sales are set to reach $4.3 billion by year’s end, a 145 percent increase compared to 2025.

“One of the big trends isn’t just the uptick, but also the percentage of sales,” James Nelson, principal and head of U.S. investment sales at Avison Young, said of the multifamily data. “Multifamily was 44 percent of the [total] dollar volume [in Q1] and that is significant because it’s typically only a quarter of the sales volume.”

Multifamily investments in New York City are also booming following Mayor Zohran Mamdani taking office, as the election had caused uncertainty in the housing market.

“Investor appetite for top-tier multifamily in New York City remains very strong, particularly given the ongoing supply limitations and strong rent fundamentals,” Polakoff said. “With the mayoral election now behind us, that added clarity has prompted more owners to move on assets and take advantage of current pricing.” 

Looking at New York City as a whole, Avison Young found that total dollar sales volume for the first quarter hit $5.68 billion, a 23 percent quarter-over-quarter rise, across 182 total sales in all five boroughs. In all of New York City, the estimated total dollar volume for sales in 2026 is $22.71 billion, according to Avison Young, which is slightly below the historic 10-year average of $23.4 billion. 

A lot of that activity is set to be led by the office market, which captured the most capital in the first quarter with $1.8 billion in total dollar volume across 22 sales in the city, according to the report. 

“There’s a tremendous amount of momentum,” Nelson said. “Is there a lot of certainty in the market? Certainly not if we’re talking about geopolitical issues. But surprisingly, most of our investors are not talking about what’s happening overseas. They’re talking about what’s happening with the city’s quality of life.”

Amanda Schiavo can be reached at aschiavo@commercialobserver.com.