{December 2023} Is 2024 Year of Recovery?

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. ⁠
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The December $/sqft for the condo market in Manhattan was around $1250/sqft, similar to that of 2020, at the peak of the pandemic. This was about 10-12% lower than the first half of 2022 before rates went higher. The total inventory level was tracking at the long-term average of 7.1 months. ⁠
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Our team had a busy first week of 2024. A couple of buyers who had been looking for a year decided to make offers. Remarkably, both offers were rent-to-own offers, which were quite complicated and a sign that the market was still a buyer’s market. Both sellers were open to negotiations and we are still talking. ⁠
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We have a couple of buyers looking for a one-bedroom in Williamsburg. And we noticed more people at open houses than all of last year. The one-bedroom condo market in Williamsburg is a bellwether for the broader market. The consistent demand from younger buyers coupled with restricted inventory means that the submarket will be the first one to go up in recovery. ⁠
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Talking about a city that has so much to offer, the girls and I indulged in various NYC Holiday activities in December. Surprisingly, my 10-year-old and 6-year-old ranked their top 3 likes the same way and only diverged on numbers 4 and 5. Their number one was The Balloon Museum, where the ball pool left them utterly fascinated. The Rockettes at the iconic Radio City Music Hall claimed the second spot. They loved the venue even before the show started. Finally, they loved the Light Show at the Bronx Zoo, an experience that became my personal favorite. ⁠