Record-breaking real estate sale on 18th Avenue in Bensonhurst

A property on 18th Avenue at 67th Street has sold for the record-breaking amount of $6,700,000.

The sale was announced on July 20 by Marcus & Millichap, a local real estate group. The purchaser is the Lam Group.

The 8,615-square-foot, five-tenant, single-story retail property at 6701 18th Avenue sold for $778 per square foot, a record price for this asset class on 18th Avenue.

The offer by the Lam Group, a real estate investment conglomerate founded by Chinese immigrants that owns commercial, mixed-use and hotel properties in Manhattan and Brooklyn, beat out 20 other offers, according to Michael Cimino, Marcus & Millichap real estate salesperson. He said the sale is part of a trend.

“This sale represents the main trend on this section of 18th Avenue which is that Chinese buyers are buying anything they can in the area and are paying very aggressive numbers, much higher than the rest of the local investment community,” said Cimino in an email.

This trend is real estate is no surprise as the Chinese population in the area grows. According to census data, the Chinese population in Brooklyn increased to 128,000 from 86,000, a 49 percent increase from 2000 to 2013. According to the city’s “Newest New Yorkers” report, Bensonhurst has the largest population of mainland Chinese immigrants in the city, beating out Sunset Park, Flushing and Manhattan.

The strip currently houses Apple Bank, Fabco Shoes, AT&T, a grocery store and a liquor store. According to Cimino, the face of the property won’t change soon as leases will remain in place for all tenants for at least the next five to eight years. The building is located in an R5 zone in which buildings with 30-foot-high street walls (and maximum 40-foot height with setback) are as of right. It does not have any air rights.

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