Regions  Northeast
Manhattan Sales Reach 25-Year Low: Report
May 29, 2009
By: Tonie Auer, Contributing Correspondent

After a rough 2008, Manhattan's property investment market has continued to take it on the chin thus far in 2009. Real estate sales in Manhattan reached a 25-year low in 2009's first quarter, according to a new report by Massey Knakal Realty Services.

“The No. 1 finding--that turnover in the first half is the lowest it has been in 25 years--is a major indicator of the market,” Massey Knakal managing director Kyle Mast told CPN. “Over the last 25 years, annual volume of sales was about 2.5 percent of total properties. That figure was at a high in 1998 with 3. 9 percent. The lowest was 1.6 percent in 1992 and 2003. These are cyclical, but the first part of 2009 has 0.7 percent. I don’t expect that to get lower.”

“We had a virtual paralysis after the dismantling of the credit industry in September with the collapse of the Lehman Brothers, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,” Mast said. “The credit markets froze in the fourth quarter.” This is the first period tracked that reflects the market mentality created by September's financial turmoil and the ensuing paralysis of the credit markets throughout the fall, he added.

Looking ahead to the rest of the year, annualized sales figures suggest that 2009 will see a 59 percent decline in total dollar sales volume and a 68 percent decline in the number of sales, Mast said.

“I’m confident moving forward in 2009 that sales volume will pick up. I don’t think it will get worse than it was in the first quarter because of the historical data over the last 25 years. I believe things will turn around. The only place to go from here is up and we’ve had an increase in contract execution in our office over the last 1.5 months.”

The report shows that the multi-family properties continue to be a prized asset class, Mast said. Of the 13 apartment buildings that traded in the first quarter, three were elevator buildings. More than half of the sales were under $5 million, and all but two were under $10 million. One to four family buildings showed some surprising numbers, with seven out of the nine sales that took place in the first quarter of 2009 occurring at above $1,000 PSF with the high PPSF being $3,220.

It would appear retail and mixed-use properties have experienced downward pressure due to the increased retail vacancy rate city-wide and many investors now expecting in place returns at or above 6 percent, Mast said. As a result, cap rates in this sector are up by about 150-200 basis points. The development market saw only three sales in the first quarter of 2009, two of which were sold to end users. For the most part, the market for development sites remains at a standstill, he said.

 
Recent Northeast Headlines
$4.2B Semiconductor Facility in Upstate NY Likely to Spark New Opportunities
After three years of Silicon Valley-based GlobalFoundries and the State of New York working together to lay the financial groundwork, construction of GlobalFoundries' $4.2 billion semiconductor wafer manufacturing facility at the new 1,400-acre Luther Forest Technology Campus in Malta, N.Y., has just commenced. Officials expect the GlobalFoundries development to create 1,400 new manufacturing jobs, and they are keeping their fingers crossed that the 1.3-million-square-foot Fab 2 will spur additional investment in the area.
AIG Headquarters Sale Makes Splash in Quiet Manhattan Investment Market
With rumors circulating of a sale price around $100 per square foot,the sale of the 66-story American International Group headquarters in Lower Manhattan likely set the bar for the biggest sale in the areamarket thus far in 2009.
Manhattan Sales Reach 25-Year Low: Report
After a rough 2008, Manhattan's property investment market has continued to take it on the chin thus far in 2009. Real estate sales in Manhattan reached a 25-year low in 2009's first quarter, according to a new report by Massey Knakal Realty Services.
While Other Projects Languish, $500M Suburban Boston Film Studio Takes Next Step
The frozen credit market and shattered economy have caused the interruption or outright cancellation of development project after development project across the country, but such is not the case for an unlikely 1.8 million-square-foot mixed-use endeavor in Plymouth, Mass., about 40 miles south of Boston. Having just secured the Plymouth Planning Board's approval of a master site plan, developers of Plymouth Rock Studios can now proceed with on- and off-site activities for the fully funded, $500 million film and television studio compound.
New CRE Website Combines 3D Mapping, Property Data for NYC, NJ
Taking real estate expertise and combining it with technology has given birth to REonomy.com, a real estate information Web site designed to serve a range of professionals, from investors to brokers, by providing integrated parcel data, MLS and comprehensive property research tools in one location.
Angling to Capitalize on Future Apartment Market Changes, Industry Vets Form New Firm
The apartment market held up relatively well during the early stages of the economy's descent--but even it is now in decline. And while many investors are shying away, industry veterans Jim Butz and Greg Lamb are jumping in with both feet. The two former principals of leading multi-family developer JPI East have teamed with office and mixed-use developer Akridge to launch Jefferson Apartment Group with the intention of acquiring--and eventually--developing apartment properties in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions.
Another Step for Sustainability as Curtain Rises on Broadway's First Green Theater
Call it the "Great Green Way." Following on the heels of Manhattan's iconic Empire State Building going green, Broadway is getting its first green theater.
Manhattan Sales Reach 25-Year Low: Report
After a rough 2008, Manhattan's property investment market has continued to take it on the chin thus far in 2009. Real estate sales in Manhattan reached a 25-year low in 2009's first quarter, according to a new report by Massey Knakal Realty Services.
PA Office Lands $52M Refi
Capmark has originated $52.5 million for a partnership equity recapitalization and refinance of an existing loan for a 345,000-square-foot office tower in Conshohocken, Pa.
New Owner of Atlantic City's Tropicana Somewhat of a Surprise
Tropicana Atlantic City Casino & Resort is set to come under new ownership, just over one year after owner Tropicana Entertainment L.L.C. filed for Chapter 11 protection. But it's not a big-name gaming company that will take over the property's reigns. The United States Bankruptcy Court in Camden, N.J., has green-lighted a "stalking horse" asset purchase agreement calling for pre-petition lenders--a group that includes billionaire investor Carl Icahn's Icahn Capital--to take hold of the asset in return for forgiving $200 million of debt owed by Tropicana.
Boston-Area Biotech Firms Seek Cheaper Space in Suburbs
Drug maker Alkermes Inc. last week became the latest in what has become a growing line of biotech firms leaving Cambridge, Mass., in search of less expensive office and laboratory space in the suburbs. The company plans to relocate to a 100,000-square-foot facility in Waltham early next year, a move that Alkermes says will eventually save some $750,000 a year.
Despite Office Market Slump, 1M-SF Connecticut Campus Trades in $72M Deal
It's an office trade of such a size that has not been seen in Connecticut, no less challenged by job losses and economic malaise than most other markets, in quite a while. Matrix Connecticut L.L.C. has just taken over ownership of the 1 million-square-foot Danbury Corporate Center in Danbury, Conn., from GERA Danbury L.L.C. in a $72.4 million merger transaction. The deal is a coup for Connecticut, as well as its neighbors, as it marks the largest multi-tenant office transaction in the suburban New York Tri-State area so far this year.
NBA Renewal Marks Big Win for Midtown Manhattan
Multiple landlords attempted to lure NBA Properties to other locations in Manhattan and across the Hudson River but Olympic Tower Associates’ signed NBA Properties Inc. to a 10-year, 153,000-square-foot renewal at 645 Fifth Avenue.
84,000SF Former Call Center in PA to Become Office Space
A former Verizon call center in Upper Darby, Pa., has been acquired by a buyer with plans to transform the 84,000-square-foot property into office space.
KABR Fund Takes 235,000-SF New Jersey Office
Newly-formed value-added real estate fund KABR Real Estate Investment Partners L.L.C. has purchased a 235,000-square-foot office building at 85 Challenger Road in Ridgefield Park, N.J., from AIG.
Timberland Renews 246,000SF HQ Lease in New Hampshire
New England-based real estate firm Altid Enterprises L.L.C. has inked a 246,000-square-foot office lease renewal with apparel maker The Timberland Co., in Stratham, N.H.
Broadway Partners Refinances Debt on Boston Office Building
Broadway Partners has completed the refinancing of Ten/10 Post Office Square, a 13-floor, 435,000-square-foot office property located in Boston.
Vacancy Rental Rates Dropping 19 Percent for Manhattan’s Top-Quality Buildings
Asking rental rates for Manhattan’s trophy-quality buildings suffered in the first half of the year as the average asking rental rates dropped 18.7 percent, falling to $83.66 per square foot from $102.85 per square foot in fall 2008, according Jones Lang LaSalle’s 2009 Skyline Review.
Renovated Historic Building an Example of Condo Developers Thinking Outside the Box
In today's stalled condo market, many developers are looking for creative ways to attract buyers. To that end, Emanon Equities, a Long Island-based real estate development and construction firm, and Ramsgard Architectural Design have turned The Seitz Building, a collapsing historic building in Downtown Skaneateles, N.Y., into a luxury mixed-use condominium complex.
Hartz Mountain Leases Out 116,000 SF in New Jersey
Hartz Mountain Industries has agreed to a lease deal with Breeze-Eastern Corp., a publicly-traded designer of lifting devices for military and civilian aircraft.