NEW YORK CITY-Could the Bronx be on the rise? A new report suggests that the borough may be headed there, noting there was a spike last year in both the number and value of investment property transactions.

Investment property transactions in the Bronx increased 23% and the dollar volume of those trades rose 13% in 2013 compared to 2012, according to Ariel Property Advisors' Bronx 2013 year-end sales report.

In 2013, the Bronx saw 295 transactions comprised of 474 properties totaling $1.7 billion compared to 2012, which saw $1.5 billion in sales over 240 transactions comprised of 373 properties. The 2013 figures also represent a significant jump in transactions and dollar volume from 2011 levels.  

“The investment property sales market in 2013 was defined by numerous large multifamily portfolio transactions as well as significant retail trades, and the beginning of several game changing developments that will have a wide impact on the borough for years to come,” says Scot Hirschfield of Ariel Property Advisors.  

Overall, multifamily prices in the Bronx reached their highest levels since the period before the financial crisis, with average prices per square foot exceeding $100 and prices per unit exceeding $105,000. Multifamily investment activity clustered around the western neighborhoods of the Bronx, with Riverdale attracting buyers willing to buy market-rate multifamily buildings for a 5 cap and 10 times the gross rent.  

“With development picking up throughout the city and with several major public-private initiatives underway, Bronx development sites are poised to gain more traction in 2014,” Hirschfield continues. “The South Bronx, or SoBro, is attracting a steady stream of hipsters, luxury loft conversions, and new restaurants. A luxury hotel even opened its doors on east 149th street in the historic Bronx Opera House.”  

The multifamily market saw 175 transactions comprised of 283 buildings valued at more than $1 billion dollars, a 25% increase in transactions, 30% increase in properties sold, and 11% increase in dollar volume. Meanwhile, investment in commercial sites resulted in 11% of the transactions and 15% of the dollar volume for the borough. The dollar volume of these deals totaled more than $253 million, which is a 190 percent jump from 2012, but the 38 properties sold in 32 transactions were flat year-over-year.  

In spite of the opening of new malls in the Bronx, the borough remains under-retailed and investors have taken note, Ariel reports. New players are entering the market from Manhattan and beyond with particular interest in transportation hubs. An example of this interest was the $133.9 million purchase of the 262,000-square-foot, mixed-use Fordham Place at 400 East Fordham Rd., by Illinois-based Retail Properties of America, a real estate investment trust.  

A total of 72 development, industrial, and garage transactions consisting of 122 properties changed hands, a 33% and 22% increase, respectively. The total value of transactions was $199 million, which represents a 42% decline year-over-year, but land values are increasing with average price per buildable square foot increasing from $30 to $32.

Several major development projects were announced last year, with the largest being La Central, a $345 million housing complex with five buildings in Melrose. Expected to break ground in 2015, the development will include 985 units of affordable housing, a YMCA and a blend of retail and community oriented space.  

Public-private partnerships defined the Bronx during the year with the City Council's approval of the Kingsbridge National Ice Center, which will house nine ice rinks, a 5,000-seat arena, and community space in the long-vacant Kingsbridge Armory, and the MTA's sale of a site near the intersection of East Gun Hill Rd. and the New England Thruway, on which developers Grid Properties and the Gotham Organization will build a 260,000-square-foot retail space.