NYC Real Estate Market Update

Those who read the New Construction Manhattan blog with any regularity are familiar with the fact that the market for NYC condos is in the midst of what appears to be a pretty spectacular rally after some rough years. Really, anyone who reads about NYC real estate anywhere is probably aware of this -- those years were pretty rough, the rally is pretty impressive, and most everyone who has anything to do with Manhattan apartment sales is happier than they've been in years. One odd detail about the Manhattan real estate recovery, which we wrote about last week, is the way in which Manhattan condo prices have stayed flat while sales volume has soared. That strange, buyer-friendly quirk in the Manhattan condo market got that much less anecdotal with the latest round of information from ResidentialNYC.com, which confirms that second quarter ">Manhattan condo sales did indeed spike, with only a relatively modest spike in prices.

We hear the term "buyer's market" so often of late in reference to the current real estate market that it's easy, at times, to forget just what it means. The phrase itself isn't tough to decipher, of course: buyers of NYC condos have an advantage over sellers of NYC condos at present. But a new report from Zillow.com indicates the real-world effects -- the very positive real world effects, at least for those looking into buying a Manhattan apartment -- of the current buyer's market in Manhattan real estate. On average, Manhattan apartment buyers paid a whopping five percent less than the last listed price on NYC condos in January. That's a savings of over $20,000 per purchase, on average.

2008's 4th quarter began on, shall we say, rocky terrain. Bailouts, Fannie and Freddie, credit crunching... and things got no sunnier as the quarter wore on.

How'd Manhattan do, given these conditions?

Contract activity fell pretty hard, by somewhere between 35 and 75%, compared to 2007's fourth quarter. And current contract prices fell about 20% since August, 2008. Sales of re-sale apartments, and their price levels, fell.

However, new development closings and price levels rose because of:

• a flurry of new buildings
• heavy closing activity
• slow movement in the 3rd quarter

General notes (All figures compared to 2007's 4th quarter)...

• Median sales price increased by 5.9% to $900k.
• Re-sale median sales price fell by 3.6% to $732k.
• New development median sales price increased by 5% to $1.3 mil.
• Number of sales fell by 9.4% to 2,282 units.
• Number of re-sales fell by 24.8% to 1,408 units.
• Number of new development sales increased by 35.5% to 874 units.
• Listing inventory increased by 39.3% to 9,081 units.
• Days on market rose by 4 weeks to 159 days.
• Listing discount was 7.3%, up from 2.7%.

What about markets according to housing type?

Co-ops

• Median sales price of a co-op this quarter was $675,000, unchanged from last year.
• Number of sales fell by 23.4% to 985 units.
• Listing inventory levels for co-ops increased 52.2% to 3,808 units.
• Co-ops made up 43.2% of all sales and 41.9% of listings.

Condos

• Median sales price of a condo this quarter was $1.18 mil, up by 1.8%.
• Number of sales increased 5.3% to 1,297 units.
• Listing inventory levels for condos increased 31.3% to 5,273 units.
• Condos accounted for 56.8% of all sales and 58.9% of all listings.

Luxury Market (upper 10% of all sales)

• Median sales price of luxury apartments was $4.13 mil, down by 3.9%.
• Listing inventory increased 25.5% to 1,730 units.
• Days on market was 169 days, 52 days longer.

Loft Markets

• Average price per square foot declined by 1.7% to $1,268.
• The average size of a typical loft sale jumped 17% to 1,865 square feet.

All in all, Manhattan weathered a rough quarter.

Source: Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate