Press

When you examine a 42-year career in New York City investment sales, it becomes clear that success is rarely the result of a single defining moment. Instead, it is shaped by a series of decisions made at critical inflection points—moments when the conventional path is clear, but the better path requires conviction, discipline, and long-term thinking.

The June NYC Real Estate Development Site Newsletter is now available including Air Rights Comparable Sales.

Last night, the New York Knicks delivered one of the greatest comebacks in sports history and the single greatest comeback in NBA Finals history.

BKREA has been exclusively retained to sell 150 West 85th Street, a vacant six-story building on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Qualified bids for the 38,838-square-foot property are due June 15th at 12:00 PM, offering immediate vacant possession and redevelopment optionality.

The recently enacted pied-à-terre tax may ultimately prove to be one of the most disruptive pieces of real estate legislation New York state has passed in years. Whether one agrees with the objective or not, the manner in which it was enacted and the uncertainty it introduces into the marketplace are likely to create consequences far beyond the revenue the tax is expected to generate.

BKREA, the New York City development site specialists led by Chairman and CEO Bob Knakal, has launched the BKREA Air-Rights Comparable Sales Database, a proprietary intelligence platform helping owners, developers, and institutions maximize value in the city's increasingly complex air rights market.

One of my favorite illustrations of success is something often referred to as the Stonecutter’s Creed. Imagine a stonecutter standing in front of a massive block of stone. He picks up his mallet and strikes it. Nothing happens. He strikes it again. Still nothing. Ten blows, 20 blows, 50 blows, 95 blows, and the stone appears completely unchanged.

Bob Knakal, Chairman and CEO of BK Real Estate Advisors (BKREA), has been recognized as one of "The Most Visionary Business Leaders to Watch in 2026." The feature highlights Knakal's four-decade career in commercial real estate, his commitment to innovation, and his ability to combine traditional relationship-driven brokerage with cutting-edge technology and data intelligence.

In a city where ambition rises as fast as its skyline, few individuals have left as indelible a mark on the commercial real estate landscape as Bob Knakal.

Bob Knakal, Chairman and CEO of BK Real Estate Advisors (BKREA), has been featured in The Quiet Reinvention of Real Estate, a profile highlighting how he is reshaping commercial real estate brokerage through data, technology, market intelligence, and disciplined execution.

In an industry defined by information, relationships, and execution, BKREA has positioned itself as a modern, data-driven commercial real estate investment sales advisory firm built on decades of proven success. The firm reflects not only a deep understanding of commercial real estate, but also a clear vision for how brokerage and advisory services must evolve in an increasingly complex and global marketplace.

Bob Knakal has released a new episode of The Bob Knakal Show featuring MaryAnne Gilmartin, Founder and CEO of MAG Partners and former President and CEO of Forest City Ratner Companies, who discusses her career developing New York real estate.

Bob Knakal along with Jas Saini, Ryan Candel and Nick Tuleu of BKREA announced the development site at 327 Tenth Avenue in West Chelsea NYC is now avialble.

For more than a decade, New York politicians have approached the housing crisis with a fundamentally flawed assumption: that affordability can be legislated into existence without regard for economics.

For years, the narrative surrounding New York City’s Class B and C office market was overwhelmingly negative. Vacancy was rising. Leasing activity was sluggish. Remote work was ascendant. Institutional lenders were retreating. Distressing headlines dominated the conversation. And, perhaps most importantly, pricing collapsed.

Ryan Candel, Senior Vice President of Transactions at BKREA, has been named "Most Promising Commercial Broker of the Year" at the 2026 RED Awards—a recognition reflecting his measurable growth among New York City's top commercial real estate brokers and rising land-brokerage talent.

BK Real Estate Advisors (BKREA), led by Chairman and CEO Bob Knakal and Associate Seth Samowitz, successfully represented Alexander's, Inc. in the $235.5 million sale of 96-05 Queens Boulevard in Rego Park, Queens to Northwell Health. The transaction ranks among the most significant New York City development site sales of 2026.

BKREA and Crexi Release the Next Installment of “Conversation with the Chairman” Featuring Bob Knakal

In New York City’s highly competitive investment sales market, longevity is rare and dominance even rarer. Bob Knakal has achieved both.

The property involved in this transaction is a development site located at 136 West 44th Street, Manhattan. The sale price for this asset was $20,100,000, with a building square footage (BSF) of 60,322 and a price per building square foot (PPBSF) of $333.

New York lawmakers are reportedly considering a new 1 percent tax on all-cash home purchases over $1 million. The proposal is designed to raise revenue and help close New York City’s budget gap.

Commercial real estate veteran Bob Knakal launched a new speaker series and expanded his Knakal Dealmakers Knetwork mentorship initiative, delivering a keynote on the three pillars of elite performance: passion, expertise through specialization, and disciplined daily execution.

Real Estate titans Bob Knakal and Don Tepman headlined the annual NYC Real Estate Gala, an exclusive evening uniting New York City’s most influential developers, investors, and brokers at Hudson Yards.

BKREA: Where Market Intelligence Meets Execution

Every housing conversation in New York City seems to begin with the same flawed premise: “How does the government find enough money to create housing?”

Building Value: How Bob Knakal Is Rewriting the Playbook with BKREA

People talk a lot today about motivation, how to find it, how to sustain it, how to “unlock” it.

Genessy Jaramillo, Managing Director and Head of the Transferable Development Rights Team at BKREA, earned Transferable Development Rights Broker of the Year honors at the 2026 RED Awards. Chairman and CEO Bob Knakal calls her a rising star in New York City commercial real estate.

Knakal’s investment sales firm, launched on the heels of his exodus from JLL, has closed 43 transactions totaling $1.78 billion in Manhattan real estate. As it makes its way through 2026, the firm has at least 75 listings that have the potential to bring in about $4 billion for his clients, according to Knakal.

BKREA was founded out of a long-standing observation that the New York City investment sales market, despite its scale and sophistication, was still not being served at the level of rigor and precision that modern institutional capital demands.

Bob Knakal launches The Knakal Dealmakers Knetwork, a live mentorship community for brokers and sales professionals. Drawing from a 42-year career brokering 2,398 buildings worth $24 billion, members receive twice-monthly sessions on sales, negotiation, branding, and elite performance. Launches May 5, 2026.

Extell scooped up the property at 57 E. 55th St. for $19 million, Bob Knakal of BKREA investment sales brokerage in New York, told CoStar News. Knakal represented the seller, Kairos Investment Management. Kairos bought the property in February for $15 million in a foreclosure auction, CoStar data shows.

Barnett’s bid beat out a hospitality operator, foreign consulates and a group of crypto investors seeking to turn the Friar’s Club into a private club, dubbed the Crypto Castle. Bob Knakal and Tom Brady of BKREA brokered the deal on behalf of Kairos.

For several years, the narrative surrounding New York City office buildings, particularly Class B and Class C assets, was relentlessly negative. The headlines were dominated by remote work, shrinking footprints, weak leasing demand, rising vacancy and the notion that traditional office use might never fully recover.

The mixed-use property located at 57 East 55th Street in Manhattan has been sold for $19,000,000. The asset encompasses a total area of 14,541 square feet, resulting in a price per square foot of $1,306.

Developer Gary Barnett’s Extell Development has purchased New York City’s former home of comedy, the Friars Club building at 57 East 55th Street, for $19 million, sources told Commercial Observer.

The gala is co-hosted by Tepman and the Big Apple’s uber-investment-sales guy, Bob Knakal of BKREA, whose online handle has 50,400 followers.

Bob Knakal’s One 21 Las Vegas keynote addressed how boutique commercial real estate firms can outperform institutional platforms through decision speed, information depth, and incentive alignment.

Every few years, Albany revives an idea that may sound politically attractive but is economically destructive: the pied-à-terre tax.

The inaugural BKREA White Paper examines ELURP — a new regulatory pathway that could reduce certain NYC land use approvals from 7+ months to 90 days — and is also featured in the April 2025 Development Site Monthly Newsletter.

With a career spanning more than four decades, Bob Knakal has become one of the most influential figures in New York City commercial real estate. As the founder and CEO of BK Real Estate Advisors, his impact extends beyond transactions—shaping brokerage models, mentoring future leaders, and redefining how investment property sales are executed.

Bob Knakal and the BKREA Team Proprietary dataset of 29,000+ NYC property transactions reveals the two variables that consistently predict market peaks and troughs.

For most of my career, I have told clients that if you want to understand value in New York City real estate, you need to understand three things: location, zoning and the market. Study those variables carefully, and you can make informed decisions about what a property is worth and what it can become.

Visionary leadership is often associated with bold predictions and disruptive reinvention. In reality, it is far more disciplined. It is built on clarity, conviction, and an unwavering commitment to long-term value creation.

Bob Knakal, Chairman and CEO of BK Real Estate Advisors, has been recognized by Biz Insight Global as one of the Most Influential Business Leaders to Watch in 2026.

For more than forty years, Bob Knakal’s career in New York’s commercial real estate market has centered on one guiding idea: a brokerage firm succeeds when its clients succeed. Markets evolve, buildings change hands, and investment strategies shift with economic cycles, but the fundamental purpose of the brokerage profession remains constant. The role of a broker is to guide property owners and investors through complex decisions and help them achieve the best possible outcome for their assets.

Few figures in commercial real estate have shaped the landscape with as much breadth, depth, and sustained influence as Bob Knakal, Chairman and CEO of BK Real Estate Advisors (BKREA). With a career spanning more than four decades, Knakal’s trajectory reflects both the evolution of the investment sales business and his own dynamic capacity to innovate, lead, and redefine what it means to be a top-tier real estate advisor in an increasingly complex and competitive world.

Over the past several years, the landscape of multifamily lending in New York City, particularly in the rent-regulated sector, has undergone a dramatic transformation. With the collapse of Signature Bank and the pullback of New York Community Bank (now operating as Flagstar), J.P. Morgan Chase has emerged as the dominant lender in this space. You have, in effect, become the 800-pound gorilla.

There is a number quietly shaping the future of housing in New York City: $72.45 per hour. That is the minimum all-in compensation required for construction workers on certain residential projects over 150 units under the state’s 2-year-old 485x development incentive.

BKREA releases the most comprehensive Manhattan investment sales study ever published — analyzing 29,363 transactions across 42 years to document market cycles, federal tax policy impacts, and the deepest below-trend slowdown in recorded history, triggered by New York’s 2019 rent-regulation overhaul.

Groundbreaking analysis of 29,363 Manhattan investment sales from 1984–2025 maps four decades of transaction cycles, tax-policy impacts, and the lasting market disruption caused by New York's 2019 rent-regulation law — the most comprehensive Manhattan investment sales dataset ever assembled.

In New York City real estate, longevity alone commands respect. Dominance commands attention. Reinvention, however, is what defines legacy.

New York City’s market-rate apartment rents are reaching levels that would have seemed unimaginable just a few years ago. In February, the median rent in Manhattan reached $5,000 per month for the first time in history.

Genessy Jaramillo, Managing Director at BKREA and NAIOP NYC Developing Leader Chair, joined industry leaders as a featured panelist at a February 13 discussion exploring the forces shaping New York City’s future skyline, development strategy, and capital markets.

BKREA has appointed Baruch Edelkopf as Managing Director, focused on development sites and investment sales across Brooklyn and the outer boroughs. Edelkopf brings 12 years of experience and over $250 million in completed transactions, primarily across middle-market deals in Brooklyn and Queens.

For more than four decades, I have been tracking investment property sales in Manhattan south of 96th Street. Within this market, there are 27,649 investment properties, and, since 1984, we have meticulously tracked every sale.

The Real Deal has named Bob Knakal one of its “Top 100 Real Estate Titans of the Year,” recognizing his enduring impact on New York City investment sales and his continued leadership as one of the most accomplished commercial real estate brokers in the country.

Savills’ planned acquisition of Eastdil Secured, one of the biggest and likely most consequential in the real estate advisory business, isn’t making Bob Knakal rethink his decision to go out on his own.

BKREA is highlighting New York City’s newly introduced Expedited Land Use Review Procedure , a policy change designed to significantly shorten development approval timelines. The reform could reshape how developers, landowners, and investors evaluate entitlement risk, capital deployment, and project feasibility across the city.

The commercial real estate industry is undergoing a profound transformation driven by data, analytics, and intelligent systems. At the center of this evolution is Bob Knakal, founder and leader of BKREA, one of the most respected commercial real estate advisory firms in the United States.

Knakal got into real estate by accident. He supposedly applied for a summer internship at Coldwell Banker in 1981, thinking it was a bank. Whether that’s apocryphal or not, Knakal is now one of the city’s top investment sales brokers.

For decades, the massive Kingsbridge Armory in the Bronx has stood empty — a cavernous structure occupying an entire city block in a borough that has long struggled with some of the highest unemployment rates in New York City and the nation. Few development failures better illustrate the consequences of public policy divorced from economic reality than the armory.

In an era defined by rapid technological change, economic uncertainty, and evolving leadership expectations, very few business leaders stand out for the right reasons. Fewer still earn trust across generations while continuing to innovate at the highest level.

I’ve loved James Bond movies since I was a boy. Everything about them — the music, the cars, the villains, the confidence, the sense that one person, armed with better intelligence, could outmaneuver everyone else.

For decades, commercial real estate investment sales brokerage has relied heavily on memory, relationships and anecdotal experience. Brokers would say things like, “He’s a good buyer,” or “They always retrade,” or “That group is aggressive.” Sometimes those assessments were accurate. Sometimes they were not. But they were rarely quantified.

BKREA, the New York City investment sales firm founded by Bob Knakal, has introduced an AI-powered Developer Ranking System that transforms decades of transaction history into a data-driven framework, giving property owners unprecedented insight into buyer behavior, execution reliability, and negotiating leverage.

BKREA’s February market update spotlights the Long Island City rezoning as a pivotal development shaping New York City’s next real estate cycle. Chairman Bob Knakal notes the initiative signals renewed momentum for development sites and underscores shifting investor focus across the metropolitan market.

BKREA Senior Vice President of Transactions Ryan Candel recently joined Ithaca College's Real Estate Club Career Connections series, sharing insights on his brokerage career and strategies students can use to build relationships and launch successful careers in commercial real estate.

There is an old rule in real estate: When the math stops working, everything else eventually follows.

For over four decades, Bob Knakal has stood out in commercial real estate not just for extraordinary production, but for sustained excellence, strategic innovation, and culture-building.

The world’s largest firms proudly position themselves as “full-service” platforms, offering investment sales, leasing, financing, equity placement, property management and advisory services under one roof. On the surface, this appears to benefit clients. More services suggest more capability, more reach and more resources.

The NAIOP New York City Metro Chapter congratulates chapter member and Developing Leaders Chair Genessy Jaramillo on being named a 2026 NAIOP and Prologis Inclusion in CRE Scholarship recipient, recognizing her as one of fifteen emerging professionals selected nationwide this year.

Bob Knakal, Chairman & CEO of BKREA and one of the most respected voices in commercial real estate, recently led a Lunch & Learn session with brokers at Lee & Associates, focused on broker best practices, professional development, and strategies for maximizing long-term success.

Some leaders don’t just follow markets, they understand cycles, people, and timing. They believe that doing the right thing for clients never goes out of style, and that excellence only comes from going all-in, every single time. Over decades, this philosophy has reshaped how relationships are built, how information is valued, and how firms grow from the inside out.

Bob Knakal stands as one of the most influential figures in the history of U.S. commercial real estate brokerage. Over more than four decades in New York City’s investment sales market, he has helped redefine how buildings are valued, marketed, and sold.

Bob Knakal, Chairman & CEO of BKREA, spoke with Lehigh University students during the school’s professional speaker series, sharing insights on his career, the importance of relationships in commercial real estate, and practical guidance for students pursuing industry careers.

For decades, New York City has relied on tax incentives to produce rental housing. Without them, the math simply does not work. Construction costs, land costs, financing costs and regulatory costs all add up to numbers that private capital cannot justify without a program that closes the gap.

Bob Knakal, one of New York City’s most accomplished commercial real estate brokers, delivered a dynamic talk at Pace University, sharing hard-earned lessons on entrepreneurship, prospecting, and discipline—offering students a candid roadmap for building meaningful, long-term careers in competitive industries.

In commercial real estate investment sales brokerage, scale is often marketed as strength. The largest global brokerage firms routinely point to their offices in London, Tokyo, Paris, Hong Kong and dozens of other cities as a supposed competitive advantage.

The traditional volume-driven brokerage model is becoming obsolete, according to Bob Knakal, whose career includes the sale of 2,391 properties totaling approximately $24.1 billion in transaction volume.

Bob Knakal: 2026 Emerging Icon & Most Impactful Leader in Commercial Real Estate

For more than four decades, Bob Knakal built his career as a generalist in New York City commercial real estate. Over that time, he’s brokered the sale of 2,388 buildings across virtually every asset class imaginable — office, retail, multifamily, industrial, medical, parking, development sites, mixed-use properties, and everything in between.

New York City’s rent-regulated housing system is approaching a breaking point, not because of a single policy, but because of a compounding mismatch between political decisions, economic reality and simple mathematics.

BKREA announced it has been exclusively retained to arrange the sale of 150 West 85th Street, a vacant six‑story, 38,838 SF building on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, offering investors and users a rare opportunity for conversion or redevelopment in a prime location.

On February 5, 2026, Bob Knakal, Chairman & CEO of BKREA, moderated Offit Kurman’s Women’s Commercial Real Estate Panel, uniting distinguished leaders across lending, law, environment, accounting, brokerage, and title to share actionable strategies for navigating uncertainty and uncovering opportunity in today’s shifting market.

Industry leaders Bob Knakal and Ryan Serhant hosted an exclusive fireside chat inside 35 East 62nd Street, an iconic Upper East Side townhouse offered at $49.9 million, gathering top brokers, investors, and industry professionals for an intimate market discussion.

At its most recent meeting, the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady. At the same time, markets have been focused on the announcement that when Jerome Powell’s term as Chair expires later this year, he will be succeeded by Kevin Warsh—a former Federal Reserve governor who has been openly critical of Powell’s approach to monetary policy.

The Prescott Foundation for Children and Youth, one of New York City’s longest-standing charitable organizations, has formally concluded operations after 163 years of service, closing a historic chapter defined by advancing educational opportunity and community support for underserved children and families.

New York City’s housing crisis is not theoretical. It is visible in rising rents, declining affordability, and — most starkly — in the crumbling conditions of the city’s public housing stock.

The New York real estate industry exuded upbeat energy not only about returning to the newly restored art deco Waldorf Astoria hotel for its biggest night of the year.

Selling or managing a property is rarely simple, especially when the market is uncertain and reliable advice is hard to find.

Success in commercial real estate isn't only about buying and selling. It's about strategy, positioning, and execution. In Selling Buildings, legendary New York City broker Bob Knakal and premier industry broker coach Rod Santomassimo reveal the proven methods that have led to billions of dollars in transactions and countless career breakthroughs.

Bob Knakal CEO of BK Real Estate Advisors (BKREA) has announced a landmark 41-year Manhattan Land Index, examining 2,444 development site transactions dating back to 1984.

BKREA released a 41-year Manhattan Land Index analyzing 2,444 development site transactions since 1984. The dataset segments sales by property type and uses AI-driven analysis to identify macroeconomic factors influencing land values across market cycles.

Manhattan land is not a normal market. Scarcity drives the pricing and competition drives the pace. Developers often “find land” by targeting older, underutilized buildings that later become development sites.

Bob Knakal, Chairman and CEO of BKREA, has announced the recent release of The Knakal Land Index, a 41 year study of land sales in Manhattan, going back to 1984, the year in which Knakal started his illustrious career.

In a city where commercial real estate is measured not only in square feet but in foresight, resilience, and timing, Bob Knakal stands as one of New York City’s most enduring and influential figures.

The development site located at 144-28 Northern Boulevard in Flushing has been sold for $16,000,000.

Over the course of his 42-year career, Bob Knakal has shaped New York City’s commercial real estate landscape, closing more than 2,361 building sales transactions representing over $23 billion in volume. Those numbers, while remarkable, only hint at the true measure of his work: an unwavering focus on serving clients with insight, precision, and dedication.

When JLL acquired HFF in 2019, comments like “It’s a young man’s game” attempted to reduce a lifetime of commercial real estate excellence to a retirement countdown.