NYC Investment Sales Reach $16.2B in Nine Months as Q3 Momentum Cools

NYC investment sales hit $16.2B in nine months, up 13% from a year ago. But the third quarter cooled as rate volatility lingered and office volume slid.

October 27, 2026

In partnership with:

NYC Investment Sales Reach $16.2B in Nine Months as Q3 Momentum Cools

Good morning. New York's investment-sales market is having a strong year, with $16.2B traded through September and Queens volume nearly tripling. But the third quarter cooled as rate swings kept buyers cautious.

🎙️ This Week on No Cap: Former 7-Eleven and Blockbuster CEO Jim Keyes reveals what really led to Blockbuster’s collapse, the deals that could have saved it, and how 7-Eleven reinvented retail.

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CRE SEARCH PARTNERS

Your Next Great Hire Is Out There

CRE Daily and CA Search Advisors combine direct access to the industry's top decision-makers with 25+ years of retained executive search experience to identify, recruit, and place proven leaders across commercial real estate.

*This is a paid advertisement. Please see the full disclosure at the bottom of the newsletter.

Market Snapshot

Most Active Neighborhood

By Deal Count

Bedford-Stuyvesant — 5 sales

Properties Sold

All Asset Types

Transaction Volume

Sales Activity

$313.6M

Top Office Submarket

Avg Starting Rent

Madison/Fifth Avenue

$177.73 / SF

Manhattan Office Rent

Avg Effective

$69.35 / SF

Office Rent Growth

YoY Change

-3.9%

*Office metrics courtesy of CompStak; data from 4/01/26 to 6/30/26. Sales metrics courtesy of Actovia; NYC properties reported sold during the week of 10/9/26 – 10/15/26.

Borough Tally

A $16.2B Year Runs Into a Slower Third Quarter

New York City's investment-sales market is on track for a strong year, but the third quarter cooled as rate volatility kept buyers and sellers apart.

By the numbers: Sales reached $16.2B through September, up 13% YoY, with the deal count up 17% to 618. Manhattan led in dollars at $9.61B, followed by Brooklyn at $3.23B.

Queens breaks out: Queens volume nearly tripled, climbing 173% to $2.34B, the borough's standout stretch even as the wider market lost momentum heading into the fall.

Office still leads, barely: Office was the largest class in Q3 at $1.16B, a fifth straight quarter above $1B, yet that figure fell 52% from a year earlier as higher rates repriced the sector.

Pricing splits by use: Per-foot values diverged sharply. Retail jumped 38% to $1,707 per SF and multifamily and mixed-use rose 17% to $804, while development slid 67% to $487 per buildable SF.

The marquee trades: The quarter's biggest deals ranged from $310M for the office building at 10 East 53rd Street to $100M for retail at 675 Hudson Street, proof that large checks still clear.

➥ THE TAKEAWAY

Momentum with an asterisk: A 13% annual gain shows capital is still finding New York, but the Q3 slowdown and office's 52% drop say buyers are pricing rate risk hard. Expect selective bidding until the cost of debt settles and sellers meet the market.

Around New York

➥ New York’s new pied-à-terre surcharge could tax second-home condos and co-ops 4% to 6.5% of assessed value through 2027-28, reshaping how investors underwrite luxury units.

➥ A preservation group is pushing to block housing at the 122-acre Brooklyn Marine Terminal, where the city’s plan calls for 6,000 homes on public waterfront land.

➥ The Council’s 2028 carriage-horse ban could free three Far West Side stables near Hudson Yards for higher-value office, residential or hotel redevelopment.

➥ Revamp NYC filed to build 99 apartments at 160 Pearl Street, the latest Financial District block turning residential under the 485-x tax incentive.

➥ An amended suit now names Cushman & Wakefield and the city over an alleged $250K lease bribe scheme, with the plaintiff seeking up to $52M in damages.

➥ A Blackstone-backed tech firm is doubling its Manhattan office footprint, another sign AI and tech tenants are driving the city’s strongest leasing demand.

➥ The Council passed COPA after a six-year fight, giving nonprofits first dibs on distressed affordable buildings for sale and adding friction for private buyers.

➥ SL Green leaned on asset sales to lift Q3 FFO to $122.1M, selling 10 East 53rd for $312.2M and 110 Greene for $226M.

Follow the Money

OFFICEMANHATTAN Premium towers are normalizing $300-per-SF asking rents, with 40 leases above $200 per SF signed in H1 2026 and trophy vacancy down to 4.9%.

OFFICEMIDTOWN David Werner bought a 49% stake in Fisher Brothers’ 1M SF tower at 605 Third Avenue, stepping into the slice JPMorgan valued at $425M in July.

MULTIFAMILYGOWANUS KKR lent $95M to refinance the 133-unit 544 Carroll Street, retiring about $71.1M of debt on the year-old Brooklyn building.

RETAILBROOKLYN A developer acquired a Brooklyn retail site to redevelop as affordable housing, the latest storefront parcel being repositioned for homes.

OFFICEKOREATOWN Koeppel Rosen arranged new office leases along Broadway in Koreatown, a sign smaller tenants keep backfilling Midtown South space.

RESIDENTIALNEW YORK Brokers report sellers renting before they rebuy, a sign city buyers are preserving optionality rather than rushing into their next purchase.

DEVELOPMENTBROOKLYN A two-building Brooklyn assemblage traded to a developer, adding to a steady drip of outer-borough site sales aimed at new housing.

📈 CHART OF THE WEEK

Houston led U.S. metro areas with 33,600 jobs added through September 2026, followed by Dallas with 29,700, while New York ranked fifth with 24,100 amid slowing employment growth.