{September 2020} Who Is Buying in NYC Now?
September is typically one of the busiest months for NYC real estate market. But nothing is typical in this crazy year. September feels the same as August, July and June. Busy for sure, but for the amount of buyers and sellers we are working with, there should have been more transactions. I get daily inquiries from buyers, asking if this is the right time to buy in NYC. I tell them both prices and mortgage rates are at their lowest since 2015, but the market is still under the heavy weight of two uncertainties: a vaccine and an acrimonious political environment. However, against this backdrop, we still have more listings going into contract in September 2020 than Sep 2019, Sep 2018 or Sep 2017 (but we have also had more inventory coming onto the market then the previous years). During this time of great difficulty, it’s the New Yorkers who are believing in the future of NYC and putting down roots. Out of the nearly two dozen sales I have done since COVID, almost all are New Yorkers buying to live here themselves. I am proud of us. New York City gave me my career and my family. It pains me to read about the naysayers dumping on my beloved city. But we are going to turn this around. Imagine the market when the investors return.
Good Read
The wheels of the luxury condo market started to creak in 2017 and eventually fell off the wagon in 2018 2019. Some sign of life seems to be back, although it is still far from a consistent trend.
The NYC real estate market was the tale of two cities in October. Total transaction volume ticked higher, even though rates moved higher and sentiment was tense. Most of our new clients were understandably quiet. But quite a few of our repeat clients, the real estate veterans, were busy putting deals together.