UPDATED, 11:37 a.m., Feb. 13: Industrial real estate prices are trending upwards across New York City, according to a new data analysis from Ackman-Ziff Real Estate.
Boosted by the e-commerce sector’s demand for distribution centers, between 2013 and 2017 the average price per foot rose 81 percent in the Bronx, 76 percent in Manhattan, 76 percent in Brooklyn, 59 percent in Staten Island and 30 percent in Queens.
Although many major industrial sites have traded to developers looking for land on which to build office and residential towers (think the Navy Yard and Hudson Yards), industrial purpose-minded deals are taking place as well. The Ackman-Ziff report points to recent distribution center sales as examples, including Westbrook Partners and Innovo Property Group’s acquisition of 24-02 49th Avenue in Queens for $195 million and ASB Real Estate Investments and 60 Guilders’ pick-up of 5112 Second Avenue in the Bronx for $47 million.
https://therealdeal.com/2017/10/03/asb-60-guilders-team-up-for-47m-sunset-park-buy/
“We think that a lot of investors that we’re talking to right now are thinking about industrial uses whereas in the past they hadn’t,” said Ackman-Ziff’s Jason Meister. Innovo, for example, acquired a movie theatre in the Bronx last year for $75 million, and is reportedly considering the development of 740,000 square feet of industrial space at the site.
Nationally, industrial sales volume by dollar amount has doubled since 2012 and industrial spaces vacancies have fallen at roughly the same rate, according to data from PwC and the Urban Land Institute.
However, while pricing has trended upwards in New York, the city saw less industrial space trade in 2017 than in years’ past, data analyzed by Ackman-Ziff’s Tripp Lyons shows. In fact, every borough saw a drop in total industrial square footage sold last year, which leaves an open question of whether 2018 will bring a correction in pricing, especially in Brooklyn, where sales prices have risen most consistently, having jumped up year-over-year during every year since 2013.