Information and tips for those considering purchasing or selling a home
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Contact me here for assistance with buying or selling a home in Manhattan
June 2020: Luxury Activity Slowly Improving
With in-person showings not allowed for the majority of June, activity in Manhattan’s $5M+ market remained below 2019 levels, but sales, pricing, and active listings all increased versus May.
· Sales nearly tripled versus May, but fell from a year ago. June saw 26 contracts signed asking over $5M, a jump from ten in May. Yet, given the shutdown, sales were still much lower than last year. (Note: June 2019 was extra active due to the July 2019 tax hike.)
· Active listings, up from last month, are still below pre-Covid levels. As with sales, there were fewer active listings than 2019 or early 2020 due to Covid-19, but at 925 units rose 2% from May.
· Days on market climbed, skewed by a few sales. Although up for a fifth straight month, the 316-day average was exaggerated by two units signing after more than two years on the market.
· Price statistics spiked due to new development. Four sales skewed June price figures. While resale pricing continued to cool, four new development sales on 57th Street asking over $4,000 per square foot drove the overall average higher versus a year ago.
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April 2020: The Pause Continues
Activity in the Manhattan $5M+ market remained subdued in April 2020 as the trends of fewer sales, declining listings, and lower prices that began in March as a result of New York’s Covid-19 outbreak continue to affect Manhattan’s spring market.
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Reports cover closed sales and show the average price, median price, and average price per square foot from 2010 through 2019 overall and by bedroom type.
Contact me here for assistance with buying or selling a home in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Contact me here for assistance with buying or selling a home in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Manhattan
The coronavirus pandemic is effecting real estate in unprecedented ways and the ultimate impact on the New York City market is far from being known. As a quarterly synopsis based on closed sales, this report is by its nature a look in the “rear-view mirror” and is only minimally reflective of the shifts in business at the end of March.
What this report does show gives us some optimism: a rise in sales. First Quarter 2020 closed sales increased 2%. An uptick in activity that started in late 2019 continued in early 2020, and by mid-March closings and contracts signed were up 10% versus the same period in 2019. Lower pricing and record-low mortgage rates were unlocking pent-up demand. But then as the coronavirus pandemic spread, the stock market dropped sharply, nonessential businesses closed, and New York City became an epicenter of the virus, sales activity dropped precipitously. Yet despite these incredible challenges, business did not stop: prospective buyers continue to shop online, agents are conducting virtual appointments, new contracts are being signed, and over 130 deals have closed in the past two weeks.
There were just under 7,000 active listings in Manhattan as of mid-March, up just 2% from last year. Inventory growth, which slowed in late 2019, was minimal in January and February thanks to rising sales and fewer homes hitting the market versus a year ago. Then as the state’s stay-at-home order went into effect in late March, many sellers chose to take listings off the market. Inventory quickly fell to about 6,400 active listings, a 7% drop versus First Quarter 2019 and the lowest inventory figure since First Quarter 2018.
Prices fell again this quarter largely due to the effects of high supply, and fewer high-priced new development closings. The impact of coronavirus on pricing was likely minimal since most closings were for contracts signed prior to March. Nevertheless, for the first time in ten years, median price and average price per square foot declined together for a second consecutive quarter, falling annually 8% to $1.05M and 9% to $1,686, respectively, back to levels seen in 2015.
Brooklyn
Following six consecutive quarters of sales decline, the Brooklyn market appeared to have rebounded with a 9% uptick in closing activity during First Quarter 2020. The year started off strong with January closings alone up 30% annually. However these statistics lag today’s reality. The last two weeks of the quarter experienced a near halt of real estate activity and the quarter ended with 20% fewer signed contracts compared to the first three months of 2019. Sellers changed course rapidly as social distancing measures were implemented, pulling their listings off the market and causing inventory levels to hit a seven-year low.
With such a strong start to 2020, closing figures may have been even higher if the momentum had continued. There was increased sales activity at nearly all price points except at the very low-end where inventory was the most constrained. All product types had increased sales but resale condo sales led the way with its largest annual gain in over three years.
Prices remained high and marketing time continued to expand. While not records, median and average price did increase year over-year. Shrinking market share of sales at the low-end and a rebound in sales at the high-end drove up price statistics. Buyer indecision drove days on market up by ten days, or 11% annually, the largest year-over-year increase in two years.
Contact me here for assistance with buying or selling a home in Manhattan
Contact me here for assistance with buying or selling a home in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
OVERVIEW:
OVERVIEW:
Contact me here for assistance with buying or selling a home in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Manhattan Trends:
Buyers are taking notice of the discounts available in the market and as a result, contract activity rose versus November 2018.
The condo market captured a smaller market share of sales under $1M, which resulted in annual price increases for both the average and median sale price for this product type.
However, with buyers choosing more space over a prime location, average price per square foot dropped 9% annually for condos.
On the contrary, average and median price statistics for co-ops experienced declines as co-op buyers, on average, purchased smaller apartments.
Listed inventory for both condominiums and co-ops expanded by double-digits versus last year.
As a result, average days on market increased for both property types.
Brooklyn Trends:
In November 2019, Median sale price increased 15% year-over-year and average price increased 12% annually, due to a reduced share of sales below $1M and fewer Central Brooklyn sales compared to last year.
In addition, price statistics were skewed higher this month due to high-end townhouse sales including three sales over $5M compared to none last year.
However, average price per square foot was only 1% higher… indicating that price growth was due to the sale of larger residences, not market appreciation.
Contract activity decreased by 4% compared to last year and has declined annually during eight of the last twelve months.
Because larger residences tend to take longer to sell, days on market increased 54% year-over-year to 120 days on average in November, which was the fifth consecutive month above the Brooklyn three-year average.
Newly listed apartment inventory fell 29% year-over-year and was the lowest figure since December 2018.
Adam Ashkenas Manhattan Real Estate 