More Investment Sales in Brooklyn Than Any Other Borough

Brooklyn accounted for 40 percent of commercial sales in New York City in 2013, more than any other borough, according to a report Massey Knakal emailed us. The total number of commercial properties that traded in Brooklyn in 2013 was 1,443.

That was actually a slight decrease from the year before, down 2 percent. The average price per property was $2,500,000, a decrease of 24 percent from the year before, said the firm.

The numbers back up a recent story in Crain’s, which said that developers were increasingly interested in the outer boroughs rather than Manhattan. “We’re happy to go to the fringe because we think a lot of these areas are only a year or two away from becoming prime,” the story quoted Taconic Chief Investment Officer Kevin Davis as saying. “The meatpacking district used to be the edge where no one wanted to go, and it’s the same thing in areas now like Crown Heights.”

According to TerraCRG, the value of commercial sales was up 16 percent to $5,000,000,000. “A growing crop” of commercial developers are investing in formerly “fringe” areas of Brooklyn such as Bushwick, Sunset Park and Gowanus, as “the city’s hot residential market [pushes] gentrification outward,” said Crain’s.

“Brooklyn used to be a price alternative, but it’s now a real lifestyle choice,” the story quoted another real estate executive as saying. “When you understand the trends on employment, it’s the new media and tech tenants that are really absorbing the space, and they live and want to work in Brooklyn.”

Real Estate Giants Look to Outer Boroughs [Crain’s]
Brooklyn Commercial Sales up Slightly in Volume, Down in Value [Brownstoner]
Graph by Massey Knakal