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Manhattan Trends:
- It was a mixed quarter for the Manhattan market with fewer sales, inventory on the rise and price statistics settling down.
- Many potential buyers took a pause as a variety of factors—concerns over tax reform, luxury market over-supply, stock market fluctuations, even March’s nor’easters—reduced the sense of urgency in the marketplace.
- However, First Quarter 2018 included bright spots as well: average days-on-market dropped slightly, indicating that appropriately priced properties are finding buyers quickly, while mispriced properties linger.
- With uncertainty pervading the market in First Quarter 2018, sales dropped. Year-over-year, closed sales fell 11% and signed contracts declined 10%.
- Sales varied by product type and price range, however. Resale co-ops, which benefit from lower prices, saw sales increase 2% annually. Resale condo sales, on the other hand, declined 12% as prices remained near their record-high level.
- In the new development arena, fewer buildings commenced move-ins, causing a 44% drop in new development transactions.
Brooklyn Trends:
- Sales activity in Brooklyn remained solid, registering above the five-year average – while available inventory continued to plummet.
- The ongoing lack of inventory means many buyers are struggling to find apartments that meet both their price and location criteria, so some took a pause in the First Quarter in hopes of new listings coming on the market in spring.
- On the other hand, the more opportunistic pursued more accessibly-priced homes further south in the borough, which helped to drive contract activity upward.
- Others chose to postpone buying due to continued uncertainty surrounding the effects of tax reform – which contributed to a slight decline in overall sales this quarter.
- The overall number of closed sales was 3% lower year-over-year. The decline in sales reverberated throughout most of the northern and western neighborhoods of Brooklyn.
- However, eastern and southern parts of Brooklyn actually had double-digit increases in sales this quarter.
- Another cause of the overall decline was fewer new development closings compared to First Quarter 2017, when several large-scale buildings were completed.