Does The Market Really Slow Down In The Summer?
As the city empties out on the weekends, the New York real estate market also takes on the summer lull in July. This month we see a typical summer market, where there are less activities but buyers and sellers who do choose to transact in the summer tend to be more focused. The number of new listings that came onto the market in July decreased to 927, although almost the same amount of listings closed in July compared to June. The Median Sales Price (MSP) for closed transactions clocked in at $1.21mm, down from $1.35mm in June, but was only 3.2% lower than the initial asking price, representing the smallest discount from the initial asking price this year. What’s worth noting was that the MSF for deals that went into contract in July drifted lower to $0.995mm, almost the same as the initial asking price of $1mm. As we have been saying, as long as the sellers have realistic expectations, it will sell! Since there is a 2-3 month lag between closed deals and in contract deals, in contracts reflect the most recent market condition. On the surface, the market was drifting lower. But this was likely more seasonality than a real trend. The lower end of the market is more active than the luxury segment in the summer. On the positive side, the median Days on Market for both sold and in contract deals shortened this month to 55 and 63 days, pointing to the focused mindset of the summer market participants.
We all know Brooklyn has gotten very expensive. Here is a look at how Brooklyn AND Queens outpaced Manhattan in sales activities and experienced much higher price growth than the Island.