American Realty Capital New York Recovery REIT Acquires $1.8 Billion of NYC Real Estate in 2013

American Realty Capital New York Recovery REIT (NYRR) announced yesterday that throughout 2013 it has acquired $1.8 billion worth of real estate in New York City. Currently its portfolio includes $2.1 billion of real estate based on purchase price, excluding transaction costs. The acquisitions total 3.2 million square feet and are 94% occupied, with an average remaining primary lease term being 10.2 years. Almost all of the company’s holdings are office and retail properties.

By the end of 2013, NYRR had net debt of approximately $706 million, which results in a leverage ratio of 33%. The Company’s debt had an average interest rate of 3.6% and an average remaining debt term of 5.6 years.

Chief Investment officer of NYRR, Michael Happel, commented, “We had a very active year in 2013 and took advantage of the opportunity to buy institutional-quality real estate at favorable prices with excellent growth prospects. As a result, we assembled a high quality portfolio of New York City commercial real estate at an attractive time in the cycle.”

Happel and his team do not plan to let up in 2014.

He continued, “We continue to build a very strong acquisition pipeline and expect to be active buyers in 2014. Even though the New York City office market is recovering, average New York City office asking rents are still 15% to 20% below peak levels. Consequently, we are very bullish about the long-term growth prospects for New York City, especially in light of the limited supply of building inventory in Manhattan, the improving economy and the continued globalization of New York City.”