PropertyShark Staff 
2012 saw a substantial increase in both commercial sales volume and number of transactions. The NYC commercial sales volume reached a 5-year peak due especially to the sales from the last quarter, which surpassed the third quarter by 73%. The sales volume from the year’s last 3 months greatly contributed to an overall increase of 4% in 2012, as compared to 2011.
As you can see from the chart, the number of commercial transactions also reached a 5-year peak last year. The surge recorded in the 4th quarter helped 2012 beat the overall activity in 2011 by 20%.
Over $5 Million Transactions
Commercial transactions higher than $5 million, accounted for $23.5 billion of the total sales volume in New York City. It’s no surprise that 72% of these transactions (495 in all) were from Manhattan.
Five Borough Overview
While Manhattan continued to lead the city in terms for sales volume ($21,872,412,194), the commercial activity in the borough remained steady compared to 2011.The surprise came from Brooklyn last year: the borough managed to register a 5-year record in commercial transactions due to the sale of the Kings Plaza Mall, which raked in $751,000,000.
Office and Retail Buildings
Despite the overall commercial market increase, the sales volume recorded by the office market ($14.9 billion) was down 10% in 2012 compared to 2011, but it is still 37% up over 2008. The price per square foot for this segment was $569 in 2012, reaching a 5-year high.
Accounting $3.25 billion, the retail market transaction volume almost doubled in 2012 compared to 2011 and was 86% higher than the value recorded in 2008.
