Key Highlights
- Signed contracts for co-ops soar +167% y/y in Manhattan, according to latest report by Douglas Elliman
- Sales in Manhattan and Brooklyn take top honors in January 2021 among the five boroughs
NYC Buyers Wanted ALL Property Types
Take your pick of property types in New York City…buyers wanted any and all of them, according to the latest report by Miller Samuel Inc. and Douglas Elliman Real Estate.
Co-op sales jumped a whopping +167% in Manhattan and +150% in Brooklyn. Signed contracts for one- to three-bedroom homes also rebounded in spades. Townhomes were the market’s only weak spot.
In January 2020 before there was even a scent of a pandemic, the number of transactions hit 194. A year later, in January 2021 the number of transactions in New York City bolted to 518.
Homebuyers Returning to NYC
Clearly, homebuyers are returning. Purchase contracts for co-ops and condos doubled in January 2021 compared to January 2021. With mortgage rates continuing to hover at near record lows and sellers becoming more amenable to negotiating prices, buyers are sensing opportunities to buy more for less.
“Newfound Affordability”
Jonathan Miller, president ofMiller Samueland author of the Elliman report, said, “There’s newfound affordability.” All three-property types have seen prices knocked down by -20%.
Last month’s NYC buyers favored lower-cost properties. Condominium contracts jumped +51% y/y with the price range of $1M to $1.99M being the chosen price. More than 50% of the co-ops sold in January 2021 had prices below $1M.
Inventory Down in Manhattan, Up in Brooklyn
New listing inventory continued to fall sharply for the fourth straight month in Manhattan but in Brooklyn, Miller said, “Signed contracts for all three property types combined rose sharply (nearly triple) from the same time last year…and new listing inventory has continued to expand…since last June, keeping up with demand.
“This Is Time to Buy”
According to an article in The Wall Street Journal,high-end renters are taking advantage of price discounts to buy for the first time plus real estate investors and families are buying NYC properties for their children. Once such investor said, “…from an investor perspective, this is just the time to buy.”
Thanks to the latest Elliman Report, Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal.
