Shimon Shkury, President and Founder of Ariel Property Advisors, provides an in-depth overview of New York City’s office, development, and multifamily markets. This presentation, “Behind the Sales: What’s Fueling Investment in NYC Real Estate?”, was delivered at the NYC Real Estate Expo on October 28, 2025, at the New York Marriott Marquis.

Listen to the presentation on this podcast and click here to access the slides.

Ariel Property Advisors, together with Cozen O'Connor, recently hosted State of the Brooklyn Real Estate Market: What’s Ahead?—an exclusive commercial real estate trends conference and networking breakfast held on November 13. This discussion explored how Brooklyn’s CRE market is evolving and the forces shaping the borough’s future.

The event opened with remarks from Shimon Shkury, President and Founder of Ariel Property Advisors, followed by a panel moderated by Sean R. Kelly, Esq., Partner at Ariel, and Kenneth K. Fisher, Esq., Member at Cozen O’Connor.

The expert panel featured:

• Alyssa Zahler, Managing Director of Commercial Leasing, Two Trees Management Co.
• Sergey Rybak, Principal & Founder, Rybak Development
• Ian Ross, Managing Partner & Founder, SomeraRoad
• Leon Goldenberg, CEO, Goldmont Realty

Shimon Shkury, President and Founder of Ariel Property Advisors, Victor Sozio, Founding Partner, and Ben Schlegel, Director in the Capital Services Group, discuss New York City’s multifamily market and the findings of Ariel Property Advisors’ Q3 2025 Multifamily Quarter in Review New York City.

Highlights include:

• New York City’s multifamily market gained momentum in the third quarter, rising to $2.55 billion in sales, up 14% quarter-over-quarter and 17% year-over-year.
• Free-market assets are attracting significant investor interest due to strong fundamentals like growing rents and less regulation compared to rent-stabilized buildings.
• Nearly half of the dollar volume in the third quarter was in Manhattan where sales were dominated by well-capitalized investors targeting high-value free-market multifamily assets.
• There has been a significant increase in liquidity in the market over the last 6 to 12 months, with more banks, private lenders and debt funds entering the New York market.
• Lenders are keenly interested in Manhattan, especially for office-to-residential conversions, due to low vacancy rates and strong demand dynamics.
• The team is expecting a strong close to the year with a flurry of transactions, primarily driven by free-market multifamily properties, supported by softening interest rates

In this podcast, Shimon Shkury, President and Founder of Ariel Property Advisors, and his guests Barbara Blair, President of the Garment District Alliance, and Howard Raber, a Director in Investment Sales at Ariel, unpack the recently approved Midtown South Mixed-Use (MSMX) Plan, which replaces outdated manufacturing zoning with residential use. The Midtown South rezoning spans 42 blocks across four distinct quadrants—roughly between 23rd and 41st Streets and Fifth and Eighth Avenues—and is expected to create nearly 10,000 new homes, of which close to 3,000 will be permanently affordable.

Raber said that owners and developers are tremendously optimistic about the Midtown South rezoning plan because it will allow both office-to-residential conversions and ground-up residential developments. Blair noted that adding housing to the Garment District, when combined with the 54 existing hotels, will create a 24/7 live/work environment that will bring in better amenities and retail to the neighborhood.

Join Shimon Shkury, President and Founder of Ariel Property Advisors, Partner Sean R. Kelly, Esq., and Director Stephen Vorvolakos, for an in-depth discussion of the state of Brooklyn's commercial real estate market. They analyze the market's robust performance, including $3.25 billion in total investment sales in 1H 2025, trends shaping investment strategies across the borough and other key findings from Ariel’s Brooklyn 2025 Mid-Year Commercial Real Estate Trends report.

Highlights include:

• In the first half of 2025, Brooklyn saw 282 multifamily transactions, totaling over $2 billion, representing a 10% and 14% increase respectively over the first half of 2024.
• Of the multifamily transactions, 51.45% were for buildings with fewer than six units, underscoring a consistent post-HSTPA (Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019) investment strategy of prioritizing smaller, tax class protected assets that primarily offer free-market, value-add opportunities, largely unburdened by rent stabilization regulations.
• Brooklyn’s development market was strong in the first half of 2025, with 68 transactions totaling $610 million and pricing that exceeded $300/BSF for the first time.
• City and state housing policies and rezonings, like in Gowanus and Atlantic Avenue, have created incentives for developers.
• Brooklyn saw a resurgence in the retail market, particularly in Williamsburg. Investments from entities like Acadia Realty and Empire State Realty Trust represent the most significant institutional investments in the Brooklyn retail market since before COVID.

In this episode of Coffee & Cap Rates, Shimon Shkury, President and Founder of Ariel Property Advisors, discusses Ariel’s Bronx 2025 Mid-Year Commercial Real Estate Trends report with the Bronx market experts Senior Director Jason Gold and Director Daniel Mahfar.

Key findings include:

• The Bronx investment sales market experienced a significant recovery in the first half of 2025 with dollar volume rising to $1.07 billion and transactions to 126, year-over-year increases of 106% and 18%, respectively.
• Multifamily sales totaled $565 million across 60 transactions in 1H 2025, driven by investors seeking low-basis, high-cash-flow opportunities in rent-stabilized assets.
• The most significant rent stabilized transaction was the sale of Related Companies’ 36-
  building, 2,021-unit Bronx portfolio to PH Realty Capital LLC for $189 million, discounted from $253 million paid by Related in 2014.
• Dollar volume in the development market was up 50% year-over-year, as developers became more comfortable with the UAP City of Yes initiative and 485-x tax abatement to underwrite larger projects.

For a deeper dive, read the full report: Bronx 2025 Mid-Year Commercial Real Estate Trends report.

Shimon Shkury, President and Founder of Ariel Property Advisors, Mike Tortorici, Founding Partner, Chris Brodhead, Senior Director, and Howard Raber, Director, unpack the findings of Ariel's Manhattan 2025 Mid- Year Commercial Real Estate Trends report. They discussed Manhattan's strong real estate performance in the first half of the year, with nearly $7 billion in dollar volume driven by the sale of exceptional Class A office, free market buildings, development sites and retail.

Key Manhattan report highlights include:

• Investors are paying top dollar for Class A office assets because high quality tenants are seeking buildings with amenities in great locations.
• The recently approved Midtown South rezoning could revitalize Class B and C office stock in the area due to the potential for office-to-residential conversions.
• The development market saw a significant upswing with the $/BSF reaching $488 in the first half of the year, a 15% improvement over the 2024 and the highest level since 2021.
• Strong rental fundamentals and the below-peak basis are attracting investors to free market buildings, which saw the average $/SF at just under $800, up 4% year-over-year but 27% lower than peak values.

In this episode, Shimon Shkury, President and Founder of Ariel Property Advisors, reviews the latest trends in New York City’s multifamily market with Victor Sozio, Ariel Founding Partner, and Matthew Dzbanek, Senior Director in Capital Services. They discuss financing options and highlight findings from Ariel’s Q2 2025 Multifamily Quarter in Review New York City.

Key takeaways include:

• Dollar volume rose to $2.3 billion in Q2 2025, up 11% from Q1 2025, while transactions fell 3% over the period to 293.
• Over 70% of the dollar volume and over 50% of the transactions were concentrated in affordable and rent stabilized assets.
• Related Companies sold a 36-building rent stabilized portfolio in the Bronx to PH Realty Capital LLC for $189 million, discounted from the $253 million Related paid for the same properties in 2014.
• Ariel arranged the sale of Ocean Park Apartments, a 602-unit affordable housing building in Far Rockaway to Tredway for $88 million.
• The bid/ask spread is tightening for rent stabilized assets because seller motivation has increased in recent quarters.
• Free market properties have started to increase in value but are still below peak.
• Financing for multifamily is getting more attractive.