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<\/p>\nThe normally busy fourth quarter in New York City’s investment sales market was unusually cool as residents elected a Democratic socialist mayor who campaigned on a rent freeze.<\/p>\n
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\n Bisnow\/Mark F. Bonner\n <\/p>\n
\n Billionaire’s Row from Central Park\n <\/p>\n
Manhattan investment sales hit $2.7B during Q4, down from $4.9B in the prior three months, according to Avison Young<\/a>\u00a0data provided to Bisnow. Multifamily sales took the biggest hit of all asset classes, with dollar volumes plummeting by 57% quarter-over-quarter, even as the number of sales fell by just 3%.\u00a0<\/p>\n Political uncertainty under the new mayoral administration pushed some multifamily owners to sell buildings they had held onto for years, Avison Young brokers said.<\/p>\n \u201cHave we had meetings where New York families \u2014 I’m talking about ones who have owned here for decades \u2014 who are like, \u2018I’m pulling the rip cord\u2019? Yes,\u201d\u00a0Avison Young Head of U.S. Investment Sales\u00a0James Nelson<\/a>\u00a0said in an interview. \u201cAre they the majority? Absolutely not.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Zohran Mamdani<\/a>‘s election was the final straw for some sellers, who had\u00a0endured rent freezes under former Mayor Bill de Blasio and later\u00a0had their ability to raise rents\u00a0stunted by\u00a0the 2019\u00a0rent stabilization\u00a0laws.<\/p>\n Transactions paused briefly right around the election as people digested the news but quickly resumed as normal, said\u00a0Brandon Polakoff<\/a>, Avison Young principal and head of NYC investment sales.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a new mayor that isn’t necessarily pro-landlord,\u201d he\u00a0said. \u201cYou’re seeing a lot of people just saying, \u2018You know what? I think it’s time. I’m not prepared to wait another five years.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Appetite to buy, meanwhile, has\u00a0remained strong\u00a0as rents have climbed to historic highs and vacancy is at an all-time low. The price per square foot\u00a0in Manhattan multifamily\u00a0was up\u00a046% from the prior quarter to $1,005, indicating investors are wagering that the city\u2019s rental apartment market will continue to see rent growth.\u00a0<\/p>\n The two highest-priced multifamily sales in Q4 were the Permanent Mission of the State of Qatar\u2019s\u00a0$33.3M sale of 765 First Ave.<\/a>, which has 32 residential units and traded for $2,157 per SF, to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Wharton Properties’\u00a0$32.7M sale<\/a>\u00a0of the 22-unit 90 Bedford St., hitting $2,098 per SF, to Hikari Power.<\/p>\n \u201cOne thing that we have not seen is investors pull back,\u201d Nelson\u00a0said. \u201cInvestors are still transacting.\u201d<\/p>\n Sales in Manhattan for all of 2025\u00a0totaled $18.5B, a 13% increase from 2024 that was largely fueled by the office market, which accounted for 62% of the fourth quarter’s dollar volume. After the city’s first billion-dollar office deal\u00a0in three years\u00a0closed in Q3<\/a>, office sales were down 28% in Q4.\u00a0<\/p>\n On the year, $5.7B of office buildings transacted, a roughly 62% jump from 2024 and a sign that investors\u00a0have bought in on the comeback of the asset class<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Land\u00a0sales carried their strong Q3 performance<\/a> through the end of the year. Roughly $2.1B worth of Manhattan development sites traded hands in 2025, up 33% from 2024 and the biggest total since 2018, according to Avison Young.<\/p>\n The increase is largely being fueled by condo developers, who\u00a0are watching sale prices increase as\u00a0the city\u2019s inventory faces an impending supply cliff, Nelson said.<\/p>\n The median condo sale price increased by 2.3% between the end of 2024 and 2025, fueled by resales as inventory continued to decline, Douglas Elliman\u2019s most recent quarterly report shows<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n In certain neighborhoods, such as the Upper West Side, that supply strain is predicted to continue: Corcoran Sunshine\u00a0predicted a 95% drop<\/a> in condo delivery in the submarket over the next three years compared to 2016 to 2019, with prices already soaring as buyers jostle for units.<\/p>\n Closer Properties paid $62.6M for an Upper East Side assemblage, one of the largest land deals of the quarter for a neighborhood where condo sellouts are averaging north of $4K per SF, according to Avison Young.<\/p>\n