The Week in Real Estate Market Reports by Bellevue Consultants

New York, NY, April 14, 2015 --(PR.com)-- The latest batch of reports from around the industry found that the Financial District was the most active neighborhood for new development in Manhattan and Brooklyn’s residential prices more than doubled over a decade.

Residential

1Q 2015 Manhattan sales:

Demand for Manhattan inventory was robust during the first quarter of 2015, despite a particularly harsh winter. The average cost for a Manhattan apartment was $1.6 million, a 3.8 percent jump from the previous quarter.

1Q 2015 FiDi rentals and sales:

First quarter sales in the Financial District fared well, with prices averaging $1.3 million, an 18 percent year-over-year increase. With more people signing contracts with longer closing periods, inventory fell to 64 units during the first quarter, a 35.3 percent decline from the previous quarter and a nearly 50 percent drop from the previous year.

1Q 2105 New development:

Nearly half of all new development listings during the first quarter of 2015 were in Downtown Manhattan, and the Financial District was the most active neighborhood in the borough. During the first quarter, nearly 300 units closed or were in contract in the borough, 73 of which were in FiDi.

Manhattan luxury contracts March 23-29, 2015:

In the final week of March, twenty-seven contracts were signed for apartments priced at $4 million and above. A total of 135 contracts were signed during the month, up from 125 during the same period last year, but short of the month’s record of 190 units. The average asking price for contracts signed during the week was $7.1 million.

Brooklyn seven-year CAP and GRM report:

Between 2007 and 2014, the average price for a Brooklyn apartment more than doubled, jumping from $80,000 in 2003 to $200,000 by the end of 2013. The borough’s capitalization rate fell from eight percent in 2003 to below six percent in recent years.

Office

1Q 2015 Manhattan office leasing:

Manhattan’s overall vacancy rate rose to 10 percent in the first quarter of 2015. Despite overall strong leasing activity during the quarter, vacancy was up 5.2 percent from the previous quarter and remained 1.1 percent above the first quarter of 2015.

John Ryan of Bellevue Consultants said, "The above report suggests 2015 is going to be another profitable year for Real Estate Investors in New York City."