Real Talk: New Report Shows Brooklyn Leads the Five Boroughs in Investment Property Sales

Brooklyn is leading the city so far in the first half of the year in total investment property sales, with 884 sales-- a 38 percent increase over last year at this same time and nearly twice the number of investment property sales in the city's second most active submarket of Queens, according to Ariel Property Advisors' Brooklyn 2014 Mid-Year Sales Report.

The Brooklyn 2014 Mid-Year Sales Report tracks development, multifamily, industrial, and other commercial property sales over $850,000.

The growth in property sales in Brooklyn shows no sign of slowing any time soon, said Jonathan Berman, vice president of Ariel Property Advisors.

Multifamily sales took 66 percent of the borough's investment property transaction volume and more than half its dollar volume in the first half of the year. Brooklyn saw a 67 percent increase in the number of multifamily buildings sold to 527 and a 120 percent jump in dollar volume to $1.68 million compared to the first half of 2013.

For example, one notable multifamily transaction was Colony 1209, a 126-unit rental building at 1209 DeKalb Avenue in Bushwick that sold for $58 million, which equates to roughly $570 per square foot and over $450,000 per unit.

Another was 76 Meserole Street, a newly-constructed 49-unit rental building in Williamsburg that sold for $35.6 million, which represents a price per unit of over $725,000.

The development market remained strong as well, with the dollar volume increasing 20 percent year-over-year to more than $878 million. The majority of the development properties were traded in the neighborhoods of Bed-Stuy (19), Crown Heights (16), Downtown (16), Gowanus (13), Greenpoint (17), and Williamsburg (31).

Retail is expanding in Brooklyn with national chains opening this year along Fulton Mall in Downtown Brooklyn.

"The dollar volume of commercial and retail properties nearly doubled between 1H14 and 1H13, rising to $175.6 million from $97 million a year ago," said Ariel Property Advisors Vice President Mark Spinelli.

"New retail and office properties in the pipeline are adding strength to this market and further illustrate that Brooklyn is evolving into a 24/7 live/work environment."