Home Housing & Development JANUARY MULTIFAMILY TRANSACTIONS UP, DOLLAR VOLUME FALLS,ACCORDING TO ARIEL PROPERTY ADVISORS’ REPORT

JANUARY MULTIFAMILY TRANSACTIONS UP, DOLLAR VOLUME FALLS,ACCORDING TO ARIEL PROPERTY ADVISORS’ REPORT

NEW YORK, NY – March 12, 2012 – (RealEstateRama) — Multifamily transactions in New York City increased six percent in January 2012 compared to December 2011, but month-over-month dollar volume fell due to the absence of deals by institutional investors, according to Ariel Property Advisors’ Multifamily Month in Review: New York City.

In January 2012, there were 34 multifamily sales citywide comprised of 47 buildings totaling $170.855 million in gross consideration, compared to December 2011, which saw 32 transactions comprised of 50 buildings totaling $782.684 million in gross consideration. January 2012 figures were also down—17 percent in transaction volume, 22 percent in building volume, and 32 percent in dollar volume–compared to January 2011, which saw 41 transactions comprised of 60 buildings totaling $252.219 million in gross consideration.

“It’s common for January sales to lag behind December sales which are typically strong,” said Shimon Shkury, president of Ariel Property Advisors. “Multifamily activity is generally trending up but sales continue to be inconsistent from month to month. The drop in dollar volume can be attributed to a lack of January institutional sales, which were more prominent in the year-end December figures.”

Below is a snapshot of activity by submarket:

o Brooklyn led the month in both sales and dollar volume with 12 transactions consisting of 16 buildings totaling $51.776 million in gross consideration. One notable sale was
7-3 Spencer Court in Bed-Stuy. The property is a newly constructed elevatored luxury rental building that sold for $8.725 million, which represents $379,000 per unit or $359 per square foot. In Park Slope, an 8,600 square foot walk-up building at 529 8th Street traded for $2.85 million, which translates to $237,500 per unit or $330 per square foot.

o Manhattan below 96th Street had the second strongest performance during the January 2012 with eight transactions consisting of nine buildings totaling $46.833 million in gross consideration. Sales amounts were predominantly on the modest side by Manhattan standards as no price surpassed $9 million in value.

o The Bronx saw a slight dip in activity as January sales showed six transactions comprised of seven buildings totaling $22.95 million in gross consideration. Much of this activity came from the sale of 950-57 Woodycrest Avenue, a $9.6 million trade that consisted of two buildings containing 118 units.

o Northern Manhattan had a relatively quiet month with four transactions comprised of 10 buildings totaling $27.896 million in gross consideration.

o Queens had the most multifamily transactional activity it has seen in several months. January 2012 saw four transactions comprised of five buildings totaling $21.4 million in gross consideration.

Trailing 6-Month Sales Averages:

For the six months ended in January 2012 (page 8 of the report), average monthly transaction volume fell slightly to 33 transactions per month. The six-month average dollar volume also dipped to $384 million in January 2012, which reflects a lack of institutional sales activity in this month as well as last October and November.

Ariel Property Advisors’ Multifamily Month in Review: New York City captures multifamily sales of buildings with 10 or more units and a sale price of $1 million and up.

More information is available from Mr. Shkury at 212-544-9500, ext. 11, or sshkury (at) arielpa (dot) com. For a copy of the report, please see http://arielpa.com/newsroom/report-MFMIR-Jan2012

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 Year in Review: New York City; Multifamily Month in Review: New York City; Northern Manhattan Sales Report; Northern Manhattan Fundamentals Report. More information is available at arielpa.com.

Photo caption:

Shimon Shkury, president of Ariel Property Advisors.

Stay Connected:

• Multifamily Month in Review: New York City (para. 1)
http://arielpa.com/newsroom/report-MFMIR-Jan2012

• Shimon Shkury (para. 3)
http://arielpa.com/about/team/shimon-shkury/

• Ariel Property Advisors (para. 3)
http://arielpa.com/about/company/

Gail M. Donovan
Director of Communications
Ariel Property Advisors
P: (212) 544-¬9500 ext. 19
C: (917) 301-¬5706
E: gdonovan (at) arielpa (dot) com