Bob Knakal

By his own account, JLL’s Robert Knakal had an unspectacular year in 2021 — although what he considers unimpressive might not apply to too many in commercial real estate.

“I sold 46 buildings last year. That is below an average year for me recently,” said Knakal, who has a lifetime sales volume of over $19.7 billion through 2,176 properties sold. “And the $1.2 billion in sales volume was about average.”

Knakal said that, while the pandemic has certainly had an effect, investment sales have been more deeply affected by a market correction that began in October of 2015. Adding COVID-19 made 2020 a disaster that began to reverse only in the fourth quarter of last year.

“Right now, the investment sales business is making a pretty good comeback,” Knakal said. “If you look at the Manhattan market, 2020 volume hit a cyclical low of $11.1 billion. Last year, that dollar volume rose to $15.7 billion. So it was a nice increase.”

Top transactions from Knakal’s JLL team in 2021 included $169 million for the DoubleTree Metropolitan Hotel at 569 Lexington Avenue, which will be converted to student housing; a multifamily rental high-rise at 920 Park Avenue, which sold for $135 million; and $88 million for a residential development at 2-33 50th Avenue in Long Island City, Queens, which earned Knakal and JLL Capital Markets Managing Director Jonathan Hageman a nomination for REBNY’s Most Ingenious Deal of the Year award.

“That was very challenging,” Knakal said. “There’s a subway tunnel running under the southern portion of the site, which created a significant number of issues. Then, after we were hired to sell it, Amazon announced in Long Island City, and we thought we hit the lottery. Then Amazon went away and COVID kicked in. It was just one thing after another.”

At this point, Knakal sees a positive sales environment for 2022 and beyond.

“JLL did $4.3 billion in sales in New York City last year, and we expect that number is going to grow,” said Knakal, who noted a strong upturn in the fourth quarter of 2021 that has set the pace so far for 2022. “If the current phase of sales is any indication, sales volume should double in New York City. We’re anticipating that we could be on a positive investment sales run for five or six years moving forward.”