{February 2022} Lowest Supply Since 2015
Yesterday was the first day of Women’s History Month. My grandmother was given away as a little girl because her father passed away and her mother, whose feet were bound, had no choice but to remarry and couldn’t keep her daughters. That little girl fled Nan Jing during the Sino-Japan war and arrived in Shanghai, not knowing anyone or understanding the dialect. Standing on the shoulders of such unbelievably resilient and brave souls, my little girls will forge their own stories.
It was difficult to be a buyer in the NYC real estate market in February. Not every property, but many had fierce bidding wars with the winning bids sometimes more than 10% higher than the asking price. Transaction volume remained elevated, although it did feel the market would have less activities this year vs. last year, simply due to the dwindling supply. The total supply, as measured by the Absorption Rate, declined further to 4.9 months. We have not seen such low supply since 2015, when the market last peaked. The supply shortage will finally push the prices higher than the last peak.
Would you live in a former Superfund site? The Gowanus Canal, designated as a Superfund Site in 2010 is about to be reborn as a residential community.
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.