Four East Harlem Buildings Hit Market For $130M, Report Says

EAST HARLEM, NY — A portfolio of four East Harlem rental properties has hit the market for a whopping $130 million as developers look to take advantage of new rent regulations, according to reports.

Real estate development firm HAP Investments listed its properties at 329 Pleasant Ave., 419 E. 117th St., 2338 Second Ave. and 2211 Third Ave. as a package deal, the Real Deal first reported. The firm has been assembling the portfolio of multi-family buildings since 2010, according to the report. The newly-constructed buildings contain more than 170 apartments, most of which are market-rate housing.

The massive sales price may be due to new permanent rent reforms passed by the state legislature that put more power into the hands of rent-stabilized tenants, according to the report. Market rate housing, such as HAP's four buildings, may rise in value due to the rent regulations, the Real Deal reported.

"I think you’re going to have investors who may now shy away from fully regulated buildings and look for assets like these," real estate broker James Nelson told the Real Deal. "I think the value of this just went up."

The new package of rent reforms curtail landlords' ability to impose large rent hikes, strengthen protections against evictions and allow new municipalities to opt in to the laws. The agreement does not include some aggressive protections that tenants-rights advocates and some lawmakers had supported. For instance, it would limit rent hikes stemming from apartment and building renovations rather than abolish them. It also does not include a measure that would bar landlords from evicting tenants without good cause.

Read more about the reforms here.

Tenant advocates nonetheless received the agreement as a step forward for New Yorkers who have struggled with displacement and housing instability for years.

Read the Real Deal's full report here.