L.A. Overtakes Manhattan in Commercial Property Sales

Los Angeles overshadowed New York as the largest U.S. commercial real estate sales market in the first half of this year, according to preliminary data from Real Capital Analytics.

Investors purchased $12.6 billion of Los Angeles property during the six- month period, compared with $10.6 billion in Manhattan, said the data firm, which plans to update the numbers later this week.

Usually Manhattan far overshadows other markets because it is bigger and more attractive to global investors.

But investors are increasingly migrating to other markets because prices in New York have reached high levels, according to Jim Costello of Real Capital.

Overall, U.S. sales volume continues to lag last year, according to the preliminary statistics. In the first half, $209.4 billion of office buildings, stores, warehouses and other commercial real estate changed hands, down 9% from the same period in 2016, Real Capital said.

Declines were especially sharp in major markets. Deal activity fell 55% in Manhattan and 11% in Los Angeles, according to Real Capital. Volume, meanwhile, increased 19% in Dallas and 18% in Atlanta.

Write to Peter Grant at peter.grant@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 25, 2017 19:39 ET (23:39 GMT)