The RPG Office Condominium Report
Market Overview
The Manhattan office condominium market comprises 99 buildings totaling approximately 10.9 million square feet. Midtown accounts for 6 million sqft, Midtown South 2.8 million sqft, and Downtown 2.1 million sqft. By class, Class A represents 3.4 million sqft, Class B 5.4 million sqft, and Class C 2.1 million sqft.
In H2 2017, 128,001 square feet traded across 22 sales in 19 buildings for a total of $104,988,477, at an average price of $820 per square foot and an average unit size of 5,818 sqft. Volume was consistent with H1 2017 but declined 64% compared to H2 2016 (359,082 sqft). Dollar value was 65% less than the H2 2016 record of $304,040,259 and below the 5-year average of $150,933,220. The average price of $820/sqft was slightly less than the record $875 set in H1 2017 but significantly higher than the 5-year average of $719. The 22 sales were less than half of the 46 recorded in H2 2016 and 12 fewer than the 5-year average.
By submarket: Midtown recorded 9 sales totaling 20,825 sqft for $19,519,949 at $937/sqft average. Midtown South had 3 sales totaling 16,521 sqft for $12,632,252 at $816/sqft. Downtown had 10 sales totaling 67,815 sqft for $53,066,619 at $783/sqft.
In the second half of 2017, there were 128,001 square feet of office condominium sales in Manhattan totaling $104,988,477. There were 22 office condominium sales, averaging 5,818 square feet per sale, at an average of $820 per square foot.
Market Overview (continued)
Square Footage of Sales: The 128,001 square feet sold in the second half of 2017 is 72% lower than the 452,528 square feet sold in the first half of 2017 and 49% lower than the five-year average of 250,452 square feet sold. Out of the 22 sales, the smallest sale was 743 square feet and the largest sale was 31,142 square feet.
Dollar Value of Sales: In the second half of 2017, office condominium sales totaled $104,988,477 which is 67% less than the $320,822,871 in sales for the first half of 2017. The dollar value of sales is 40% less than the five-year average of $176,191,784.
Average Price Per Square Foot: In the second half of 2017, the average price per square foot was $820. This is 16% higher than the first half of 2017 average of $709 per square foot and 17% higher than the five-year average of $703 per square foot.
Number of Sales: There were 22 sales in the second half of 2017, down 4 sales from the first half of 2017. The number of office condominiums sold in the second half of 2017 was 13 less than the five-year average of 35 sales.
Submarket Statistics
The Midtown submarket: In the second half of 2017, there were 8 sales totaling 40,854 square feet. The dollar value of these sales totaled $36,970,531, averaging $905 per square foot.
The Midtown South submarket: In the second half of 2017, there were 5 sales totaling 41,383 square feet. The dollar value of these sales totaled $31,219,075, averaging $754 per square foot.
The Downtown submarket: In the second half of 2017, there were 8 sales totaling 42,864 square feet. The dollar value of these sales totaled $33,666,619, averaging $785 per square foot.
Five-Year Retrospective
By Rudder Property Group
Over the past five years, Manhattan office condominium values have increased 68% since H2 2012. By submarket, Midtown saw the greatest appreciation, rising 88% from $478/sqft to $900/sqft. Downtown values increased 64% from $478/sqft to $783/sqft, and Midtown South rose 44% from $532/sqft to $765/sqft.
Several notable case studies illustrate this trend. 40 Rector Street saw 126% appreciation over the period, 62 West 47th Street experienced 76% appreciation, and 99 Hudson Street recorded 58% appreciation. These gains reflect the sustained demand for office condominium ownership in Manhattan and the market's resilience through varying economic conditions.
Rudder Property Group
Rudder Property Group is a commercial real estate services firm that specializes exclusively in the sale of office condominiums in the New York metropolitan area. With 20 years of experience in this niche market, Rudder Property Group has sold over two million square feet of office condominiums with a dollar value in excess of $1 billion. In the small, highly specialized field of office condominium sales, Rudder Property Group is the market leader.
©2017 Rudder Property Group. All rights reserved. All material presented herein is intended for informational purposes only. While this information is believed to be accurate, it is represented subject to errors, omissions, changes or withdrawal without notice. All square footages are approximate and based on rentable square footages with standard Manhattan loss factors. For the purposes of this report, the definition of an office condominium is a building with more than two unit owners that has been constructed or converted to a condominium or cooperative for commercial use only. This report only includes properties in Manhattan below 96th Street.
