New Realities
It may take several months for property owners to come to terms with the market’s new realities, Knakal said. When bids in come lower than expected, many landlords simply refuse to sell, he said.
“Sellers aren’t capitulating,” Knakal said. “Volume drops before pricing drops.”
Eastdil’s Harmon said there are several large deals in the works. In 2015, Harmon shepherded such blockbuster transactions as the record $5.45 billion sale of Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village to Blackstone and the $2 billion purchase of the Waldorf Astoria hotel by Beijing-based Anbang Insurance Group Co. While it may take a little longer to get deals done than it did a year ago, values for the best properties in Manhattan haven’t taken much of a hit, he said.
“Pricing is slightly off the peak in certain circumstances,” he said. “But those prices are still sensational.”