NYC Multifamily sales rise 14% in May; Most active month of 2012, according to Ariel Property Advisors

Multifamily transactions in New York City increased 14% and dollar volume rose 39% in May compared to the previous month, according to Ariel Property Advisors' Multifamily Month in Review: New York City. In May 2012, there were 50 multifamily transactions comprised of 59 buildings totaling $523.386 million in gross consideration, compared to April 2012, which had 44 transactions comprised of 64 buildings totaling $376.832 million in gross consideration. Year-over-year multifamily transactions increased 85 percent in May 2012 compared to May 2011, while the dollar volume of these transactions jumped 172 percent. May 2011 saw 27 transactions comprised of 41 buildings totaling $192.4 million in gross consideration. "Our research shows that May was the strongest month so far this year for multifamily sales," said Shimon Shkury, president of Ariel Property Advisors. "Our brokerage operation began seeing an increase in multifamily activity at the beginning of this year, a trend that has continued. For the six months ended May 2012, average monthly transaction volume increased for the fourth consecutive month, coming in at 45. The 6-month average dollar volume shot up to $479 million, the highest level we've seen since December." * Brooklyn. Brooklyn had another very active month, leading the submarkets covered in this report in terms of building volume and transaction. For the month, there were 16 transactions comprised of 22 buildings totaling $133.217 million in gross consideration. More than half of this came from the sale of 111 Kent Avenue, a luxury rental building in Williamsburg that sold for $56 million. * Manhattan below 96th Street. Buoyed by a single trade priced at $170.6 million at 25 Broad Street, Manhattan led May in dollar volume with $259.155 million in gross sales. The borough saw 12 transactions take place consisting of 14 buildings and all multifamily activity sales metrics represent healthy improvements from last month. * The Bronx. The Bronx saw nine transactions comprised 10 totaling $77.877 million in gross consideration. Transaction and building volume dipped compared to April levels while dollar volume increased 90 percent, mostly from the $51.5 million sale of 823 Colgate Avenue. Overall, Bronx multifamily sales activity is consistently outpacing 2011 figures. * Northern Manhattan. In Northern Manhattan, May 2012 figures declined compared to April 2012 levels but were four times that which occurred in May 2011, which was a very lackluster month. For the month, eight transactions took place comprised of eight buildings totaling $31.292 million in gross consideration. While the most active neighborhood was Washington Heights, its worth noting that East Harlem saw its first multifamily sale of the year at 425 East 114th Street. * Queens. Queens' multifamily sales in May remained relatively consistent compared to the previous month with five transactions comprised of five buildings totaling $21.845 million in gross consideration. More information is available from Mr. Shkury, 212-544-9500, ext. 11, [email protected]. For a copy of the report, please see http://arielpa.com/newsroom/report-MFMIR-May-2012. Ariel Property Advisors is a New York City investment property sales firm with an expertise in the multifamily market. The firm also produces a number of research reports including the Multifamily Month in Review: New York City; Multifamily Quarterly Review: New York City; Northern Manhattan Year-End Sales Report; Northern Manhattan Fundamentals Report; Brooklyn Year-End Sales Report 2011;and The Bronx Year-End Sales Report 2011. More information is available at arielpa.com.