GFI reports 37% spike in New York City investment sales during 2013

According to GFI Realty Services, Inc., there has been a dramatic spike in the firm's commercial real estate investment activity throughout New York City. Driven by a number of significant deals in the Brooklyn and Manhattan submarkets, the New York-based commercial real estate services firm reports a 37% increase in the total volume of New York City real estate sales completed by its professionals in 2013. Manhattan investments, which accounted for 58% of GFI's real estate sales in 2013, were driven largely by volume from Upper Manhattan, where managing director Roni Abudi oversaw a large number of noteworthy deals including the $23 million sale of 3660 Broadway, a 61-unit, six-story apartment and retail building, and the $8.5 million sale of 603-607 W. 139th St., a 42-unit, walk-up apartment building. Additionally, GFI brokered a $71.5 million deal in Kips Bay, which included a package of seven contiguous buildings in the burgeoning Manhattan neighborhood. "The past year was an especially successful one for GFI, as the combination of an improving market and a growing staff allowed us to expand our market share in New York City," said Michael Weiser, president of GFI. "We fully expect to tap into a growing pool of buyers and sellers in the coming years, particularly in Manhattan, where we experienced a tremendous increase in our investment sales activity in 2013." In Brooklyn, GFI senior director Shlomo Antebi, along with associate director Joseph Landau, recently oversaw the sale of 625 Sterling Place, a three-story, six-unit, walk-up apartment building in Crown Heights. The property traded hands at a price of approximately $1.7 million. Additionally, in Bed-Stuy, Antebi recently brokered the sale of a seven-unit, three-story, walk-up apartment building at 129 Putnam Ave. The property traded at a price of $1.2 million, which translates to 12 times the rent roll and a 6.6-percent capitalization (CAP) rate. GFI Realty was also notably active in the established Brooklyn residential neighborhoods of Ditmas Park and Park Slope. Highlighting the transactions in the former was 475 Ocean Ave., a 47-unit building that sold for $150,000 per unit. In Park Slope, the GFI team oversaw the sale of 655 5th Ave. and 249-251 19th St., a two-building portfolio of 18 lofts that sold for $8.1 million. According to Weiser, the boost of transactions in Brooklyn is likely to be sustained in the near term, with a continued rush to revitalize and repurpose vacant structures. GFI recently reported seeing an uptick in the number of Brooklyn properties trading at lower CAP rates and higher gross rent multiplier (GRM) rates. "In Brooklyn, heightened demand for multifamily properties resulted in a 28-percent increase in our investment sales activity in the borough in 2013," Weiser said. "As investors continue to express demand for apartment buildings and prime retail in all boroughs of New York, GFI Realty is well positioned to continue to expand its market share by imparting an unparalleled level of neighborhood-specific expertise."