Manhattan Property Sales Hit Five-Year High in Q1

9 minutes read

Manhattan’s commercial property market is so back…at least so it seems.

In the first quarter, there were 92 transactions in the borough — encompassing multifamily, office, retail, development and conversions — totaling $3.7 billion traded, according to the Commercial Observer, via an Avison Young report. That represented a 37 percent increase from last year’s $2.7 billion first quarter dollar total and top quarterly mark since 2021.

The multifamily market exploded to $1.07 billion in deals in the first quarter, up 141 percent year-over-year. The sector made up nearly half of the deals tracked by Avison Young; if the market keeps pace, multifamily sales could rise by 145 percent year-over-year.

“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,” Avison Young’s James Nelson told the publication.

The office market also had a strong first quarter, leading all of New York City in capital trades. There were 22 sales across the city with $1.8 billion trading hands.

When considering all five boroughs, New York City sales volume rose by 23 percent from the fourth quarter, seeing $5.68 billion in deals in the first quarter. There were 182 deals in the city from January to March.

The question is whether or not the market can keep up the hot streak for the rest of the year. Avison Young projects $14.8 billion in deal volume in Manhattan for the full year, essentially multiplying the first quarter total by four. That would be a 23 percent rise year-over-year.

The second quarter is off to a promising start, as Igal Namdar’s Namdar Realty Group is in contract to buy the 540,000-square-foot office building at 250 West 57th Street from Empire State Realty Trust for approximately $280 million.

Avison Young’s Brandon Polakoff sees strong investor appetite, particularly in the multifamily sector as supply remains limited and fundamentals are strong.

“With the mayoral election now behind us, that added clarity has prompted more owners to move on assets and take advantage of current pricing,” Polakoff added.

— Holden Walter-Warner