{October 2020} Back to Being Busy
As I’m writing this month’s newsletter, the American citizens are going to the polls. It brings back the anxiety I used to have in middle school, right before the test results came back. My hands were cold and my heart was racing. With the years I learned to let go most of my anxieties. Well today, I feel this way! So let’s talk about something that puts me at ease: real estate.
The real estate market in October continued its busy pace since September. In both months, Manhattan and Brooklyn saw slightly more listings going into contract this year than 2019. From April to August, the number of listings in the contract was about half of last year’s volume. This was a gradual recovery since the market reopened at the end of June, after falling off a cliff in April through June. Price wise, the average $/sqft since the Pandemic decreased 3% from the same period last year. If you dare to buy now, you are rewarded with ample options, all the time in the world to compare and negotiate. Sellers are not chasing low ball offers but they are listening and responding with counters. The market is a bit anxious but holds itself together.
Good Read
My older daughter Kelly asked me who my hero was when her class made a wall of heroes. RGB was my answer. I hope both of my girls grow up to be fearless and compassionate.
The NYC real estate market is operating with limited optimism. Right before and after the rate cut, there was a rush of activities.
This is the first time in 3 years that the beginning of the fall came with the busy tone September usually brings.
It feels like dawn is finally coming. The real estate market in NYC has been in a tough spot ever since rates started to rise in June 2022.
After a difficult March and April, where 6 contracts didn’t get signed back to back, May offered a much needed respite from that string of heartbreak.
The NYC real estate market is at an interesting crossroad. On the one hand, we feel a lot of pent-up demand from buyers who have been watching and waiting for rates to go down.
The big momentum we saw in January slowed down in March, as the expectation of rate cuts dimmed. It was as if the subset of buyers who were rushing to take advantage of the window where prices were still low and rates were still high, had done what they needed to do and the market slowly came back to the slower pace of 2023.
February was a little busier than January, which was busier than all of 2023. It felt that spring was in the air after a long winter for the New York real estate market.
2024 started with a busy tone for the New York City real estate market. For all of 2023, we said to our buyers that “you marry the price but not the rate”, meaning now was a good time to buy because it’s a buyer’s market and prices were negotiable.
The real estate market in NYC saw about 15% more transactions in December 2023 than a year ago in December 2022. Is it a telltale sign that the real estate prices will recover in 2024? Prices haven’t moved but more buyers have come off the sidelines and jumped into the market to start the search.
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.