We are back!

I breathed a long breath of relief, after the September data were digested. Last month, this update was written with a cautious tone, as the New York real estate market prices had dipped for 3 straight months. After the market finally awoke from the long summer lull, prices for listings that went into contract and closed in September snapped back. Median Sales Price (MSP) for both in contract and closed listings clocked in at 1.2mm, about the same as before summer, but lower than the average MSP of 2016. The market also saw a large number of listings coming onto the market in September: 1530 units, more than double the 721 units that were listed in August. The latest Absorption Rate fell to 5.5 months due to the lack of supply in the summer. In hindsight, the August effect was very strong: prices could dip about 5% but there was also just half the normal level of inventory to choose from. However, one trend is here to stay: it takes 3-4 months for an apartment to buy a buyer. The days of 1-month marketing time are gone for the majority of the market.

The broken record of the NYC luxury resi market is that the demand is so soft up top that prices are down easily 10-20%. Some argue that part of the softness we are seeing in the 1-5mm market is the trickling effect of that. This article says the world’s population is getting richer and more of them want to buy than sell luxury real estate in the long run.