Manhattan seen from Brooklyn, New York. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
However, new contracts are on the rise. There were 2,477 listings that went into contract this quarter, an 82.4 percent increase from last quarter’s 1,358 new contracts, according to Streeteasy data. But broken contracts increased too, from 108 last quarter to 132 this quarter.
Mid-May saw the highest inventory levels this quarter, with 11,717 available listings. An average of 363 new listings came onto market every week this quarter. Since mid-May, inventory slowly started to decline. Condos made up half of all available listings this quarter. Co-ops take 48 percent and townhouses take percent. Thirty-four percent more properties are listed this year than last year.
That increase represents a longer stay on the listings. New developments spent an average of 235 days on the market this quarter, 18.4 percent longer than last quarter and 57.3 percent longer than last year. Co-op resales didn't suffer as much in comparison, spending an average of 120 days on market this quarter, which is 6.9 percent longer than last quarter and 20.4 percent longer than the prior year. Condo resales spent an average of 127 days on the market this quarter, a 27.3 percent increase from a year ago but a 5.7 percent drop since last quarter.
But the chilly market is thawing rapidly for some people.“They're moving, they're moving,” chimes Jessica Cohen of Jessica Cohen Group, part of Prudential Douglas Elliman. “We have 17 apartments in contract right now.” Usually they have 8 to 12 at any given time.
Cohen specializes in residential properties, mainly in the Upper West Side, where she says has been “really hot.” She attributes the good news to bottoming mortgage rates and consumer timing. “People see this as potentially an amazing opportunity to buy,” she said. “ The rates maybe the lowest that we're going to see.”
As of June 26, rates were 5.34 percent for a 30-year fixed mortgage, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Market Segment Snapshots
The following are highlights from the Streeteasy report.Luxury market resales (top 10 percent of price scale): This quarter, the luxury resale market was comprised of sales at $2.2M and above, a 33.3 percent price decrease from last quarter’s 90th percentile price of $3.15M. Average price among luxury resale closings dropped 12.3 percent since last quarter and 14.5 percent since the prior year.
Luxury market new developments:
The top 10 percent of all new development closings this quarter were priced at $4.0M and up. Average price among luxury new development closings dropped by 24.9 percent and median price fell by 29.3 percent since last year. There were no closings in Upper Manhattan in the top 10 percent of luxury new developments. The number of sales above $4.0M decreased by 47.1 percent since last quarter and declined by 71.0 percent since last year. 40.7 percent of new development closings above $4.0M took place in the Upper East Side.
South of 34th St.:
Overall median price decreased by 9.7 percent to $880K in the downtown market as average price dropped 9.6 percent down to $1.25M since the previous quarter. Median prices for condo and co-op resales actually increased, by 29.1 percent and 9.1 percent, respectively, since last quarter. However, compared to the prior year, condo and co-op resale median prices declined by 2.8 percent and 19.5 percent respectively. New development median prices, on the other hand, declined by 2.4 percent both since last quarter and since the prior year. The volume of sales for new developments has dropped significantly (51.1 percent), while condo resales increased by 62.5 percent and co-op resales went up by 69.8 percent since last quarter.
Midtown between 34th and 59th Streets:
Overall, the Midtown market saw a 10.7 percent decrease in median price to $670K since last quarter, and a 24.6 percent decrease since last year. Overall average sale price declined by 4.3 percent to $1.05M since last quarter. Condo resales median price increased by 3.5 percent while co-op resales median price stayed level since last quarter. New development median price in Midtown declined by 26.7 percent since last quarter and by 29.5 percent since last year. Additionally, condo resales are spending 27.6 percent less time on the market than the previous quarter, and 3.4 percent less time on market since last year, while co-op resales are spending 9.5 percent more time on market since last quarter and 21.7 percent more time than last year.
Upper Manhattan:
Since last quarter, Upper Manhattan’s median and average prices declined by 7.5 percent and 22.1 percent, respectively. The Upper Manhattan market is mostly comprised of older co-op resales and new condo developments. This quarter, there were only 12 condo resale closings. Co-op resales median price declined by 2.5 percent since last quarter and by 14.1 percent since last year. New development median price increased by 8.4 percent since last quarter but dropped by 15.6 percent since a year ago. New developments spent 49.1 percent more time on market than they did last quarter and 15.0 percent more time than a year ago. New developments also made up 37.4 percent of the closings this quarter, almost all of which (except for 4 closings) were priced under $1M.
Upper East Side:
Last quarter, the Upper East Side was the only major market that had gains in overall median price, mostly driven by new development closings. This quarter, overall median price dropped by 18.6 percent and average price dropped by 15.9 percent since last quarter. Median prices for condo resales increased by 7.8 percent since last quarter but dropped by 6 percent since last year, while co-op resale median prices decreased by 12.8 percent since last quarter and by 22.2 percent since the prior year. Time on market for condo resales increased by 37.0 percent while co-op resales increased by 20.1 percent since last year. New development closings made up 20.4 percent of all UES closings this quarter, while co-op closings made up 57.1 percent.
Upper West Side:
Overall median price for the Upper West Side decreased by 2.1 percent since last quarter but dropped by 27.5 percent since last year. Additionally, overall average price declined by 10.9 percent since last quarter and by 36.0 percent since last year. Both condo resales and new developments median price increased significantly since last quarter, by 21.4 percent and 40.6 percent, respectively. Compared to a year ago, condo resales have dropped in price by 17.5 percent while new developments increased in median price by 28.2 percent. Time on market has increased since last year for condos (50.0 percent), co-ops (15.4 percent) and for new developments (38.4 percent).
