Along with a handful of trophy office sales in Midtown Manhattan, over the course of last year there were plenty of meat and potatoes deals for investors to digest.

A rash of downtown office transfers took place, particularly along William Street. As office tenants have seen renewal prices spike in both Midtown and Midtown South, these downtown buildings are now seen as less pricey alternatives with the prewar charisma popular with tech and media firms. This has boosted area rents, and with them, resale pricing justifiable to lenders.

“Downtown is definitely a darling with in the investment sales community,” said Marcella Fasulo, a first vice president in the CBRE capital markets group.

Last year was the first year since the credit crisis in 2007-09 with uninterrupted transaction activity. “The city is now benefiting from a record level of tourism and investors eager to find homes and investments in the city,” said Douglas Harmon, senior managing director, Eastdil Secured. He said that land, apartments, retail, office, development and core properties all traded aggressively in 2013.

Among those marketed by Harmon’s team was the recapitalization of Times Square Tower (a k a, 7 Times Square) on behalf of Boston Properties. A 45 percent stake was sold to Norges Bank, manager of the Norwegian government pension fund, for $684 million.

Similarly, Harmon sold a 51 percent interest in the 1.87 million square foot 1211 Sixth Ave. — home to The Post’s parent company, News Corp. — from Beacon Capital to Montreal-based Ivanhoé Cambridge and Callahan Capital Partners for $857.5 million, or $932 per foot.

There were many other deals over $500 million featuring foreign investors, observed Fasulo, and many were new to the market. CBRE represented JPMorgan Chase in the sale and leaseback of a portion of the 2.2 million-square-foot One Chase Manhattan Plaza to the Chinese company Fosun International for $725 million.

Foreign investors have also started becoming more interested in rent-stabilized projects, which historically provided slow but steady returns. These receive yearly rent increases with some apartments eventually getting free market rates from a steady stream of newcomers and students.

That’s one of the reasons most buildings occupied by rent-stabilized rentals are not converted after being purchased, explained Shimon Shkury, president of Ariel Property Advisors, whose firm focuses on bread-and-butter multifamily sales.

“There is the opportunity to turn around the units [with upgrades to the apartments and the building] without a conversion,” Shkury said.

He believes that after the accelerated sales volume last year, 2014 will be a year of moderation — with a steady volume in trades, but with higher pricing. But there is concern over the new mayoral administration and how it will impact rent increases overseen by the Rent Guidelines Board. “If rents are frozen and building owners can’t meet expenses — including increasing real estate taxes and water rates — that could become an issue,” Shkury said.

The Park Lane Hotel sold for $660 million – possibly to be torn down.Christian Johnston

Looking forward, Harmon said, “Debt is prevalent but measured, interest rates are low, global equity is abundant but dear real estate fundamentals — just like the overall economy — are sluggish but moving in the right direction, and there is limited supply of attractive properties on the market. This combination should continue to benefit our markets.”

Owing to a glut of buyers pushing pricing higher, the recent large sales will encourage locals and institutions to sell their properties in 2014, Harmon added.

Richard Baxter, vice chairman at Jones Lang LaSalle, believes the market this year will be dominated by the recapitalizations of large office buildings. “Just by the nature of the market there will be sales,” said Baxter, pointing to the “investment life” for ownership that is followed by opportunity funds, and pension fund gains.

Baxter says land values also increased 100 percent last year. “They went from $350 and by the end of 2012 were commanding $700 to $1,000 a foot in prominent locations,” Baxter said. “And air is also more valuable than land in some places. Never in my 30 years have I seen anything like this.”

The Park Lane Hotel was sold through CBRE on behalf of the Helmsley estate for $660 million or $1,480 per foot to a group led by Steven Witkoff. They could someday just tear down the Central Park South structure and develop a completely new tall luxury tower.

One of 2014’s first buildings is One Wall Street, being sold by the Bank of New York through CBRE, that will include a short-term leaseback of the tower that could become a residential conversion. A Jones Lang LaSalle team will oversee the bank’s relocation.

JLL’s Baxter does not think the music will stop this year. “The demand is there,” he said.