A notable shift took place in the New York multifamily market in the third quarter of 2026: Brooklyn achieved a higher transaction volume than Manhattan. According to the latest quarterly report from advisory firm Ariel Property Advisors, the four analysed boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx recorded solid overall growth in the first three quarters of the year. Total market volume over this nine-month period reached 6.99 billion dollars across 1,044 transactions, representing an increase of 7.9 per cent in volume and 11.5 per cent in the number of deals compared with the same period of the previous year.
In the third quarter, Brooklyn secured the top spot among the boroughs with a total volume of 693.8 million dollars, although this figure fell by 12.8 per cent year on year. At the same time, the number of transactions in Brooklyn rose by 12.7 per cent to 178 sales compared with the third quarter of 2025. In Manhattan below 96th Street, dollar volume fell significantly by 43.6 per cent to 685.2 million dollars, while the number of transactions edged up by 1.8 per cent to 58. Upper Manhattan above 96th Street, meanwhile, recorded a 32.8 per cent volume increase alongside a 5.9 per cent decrease in sales to 16 deals.
Performance in other boroughs and decline in large-scale transactions
The quarter was also mixed across New York's other boroughs. In Queens, dollar volume rose by 26.9 per cent year on year, supported by 62 sales (an increase of 1.6 per cent). The Bronx, on the other hand, reported a 5.0 per cent decrease in volume to 123.5 million dollars, as well as a 9.7 per cent drop in completions to a total of 28 transactions. Overall, dollar volume across all four boroughs dropped by 23.3 per cent to 1.84 billion dollars in the third quarter. The decisive factor behind this was primarily the decline in large-scale transactions: only four deals above the 50 million dollar threshold were recorded, totalling 388.7 million dollars, compared to eight transactions worth 999.2 million dollars in the prior-year quarter.
In terms of building structure, the majority of capital went into largely unregulated housing stock. Properties where at least 75 per cent of units are market-rate accounted for 63.1 per cent of total quarterly volume. Residential complexes with at least 75 per cent rent-stabilised units accounted for a market share of 19.2 per cent, while affordable housing absorbed 8.3 per cent of invested capital.
Regulatory pressure and outlook for the year-end
Shimon Shkury, President and Founder of Ariel Property Advisors, explained that the clear divergence in the market continues across the various asset classes. Market-rate properties and affordable housing with predictable cash flows remain the focus of investors. Rent-stabilised portfolios, by contrast, are under substantial valuation pressure due to regulatory requirements and challenging financing conditions.
The report forecasts a noticeable recovery for the fourth quarter. The third quarter is likely to have marked the low point of 2026. Contracts that had stalled during the interest rate movements in the summer are now being pushed towards completion before the turn of the year, which is already reflected in the figures for October.
