Manhattan 2014 Sales Start Strong, Rentals Stable

Manhattan 2014 Sales Start Strong, Rentals Stable
Catherine Yang
4/10/2014
Updated:
4/10/2014

Price gains for the average residential sales price in Manhattan have hit an all-time high.

The average sales price for a condo in Manhattan rose 4 percent to a record-breaking $1.83 million according to a new report on the first quarter of 2014 by the Real Estate Board of New York. Median sales prices rose 19 percent to $1.25 million. 

The average price of a coop rose 6 percent to $1.2 million.

Upper East Side had the most home sales at 680 this quarter. On the Upper West Side, there were 530 homes sold; 237 in Midtown East, 205 in Gramercy/Kips Bay, 187 in Midtown West, and 175 in Chelsea/Flatiron.

“While Brooklyn and Manhattan have posted some of the highest average sales prices this quarter, the positive volume of Queens and Staten Island sales year-over-year reflects the continued growth of the housing market citywide,” stated Steven Spinola, President of REBNY. “Similar to last quarter, we’ve seen residential sales activity extending beyond Manhattan and spreading to Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island, which contributes to the city’s steady and sustained housing demand.”

Brooklyn

The popular borough of Brooklyn also saw record-setting increases. 

The average condo sales price rose 8 percent to $734,000. The average one-to-three family homes averaged $748,000, a 6 percent increase.

The majority of sales activity was focused in Bedford Stuyvesant, with 183 homes sold. 

Rentals

Developers with rental buildings in the pipeline will also come into a market of great demand. 

The rental market is cyclical, and gains are most often seen in the fall as university students and new workers enter the city. In the past quarters, rental prices have stayed flat or slipped. The most notable thing in the first quarter of the year is that the trend is reversing, says Yuval Greenblatt, Executive Vice President of Douglas Elliman. Now they’re inching up.

Renters in Manhattan may be choosing proximity to work over amenities, Greenblatt said, compared to Brooklyn renters drawn in by waterfront views and amenities they might not get in Manhattan.