Year Over Year: The Real Estate Recovery is WELL On Its Way


I want to create another outlet for our Chief Economist, Greg Heym, who published this today.  These numbers are compelling and speak for themselves.  2019 was a soft market, and the end of 2020 is already exceeding it.  -S
Manhattan Market Update
Today, we look at Manhattan apartment contract signed data since the pandemic.
You can see the dramatic improvement from May, when contract activity was 83% lower than a year ago, to today. Last month, there were 18% more contracts signed than in November 2019 — the third straight month contract signings were higher than a year ago. Even more encouraging was that the number of contracts signed in November 2020 was the highest monthly figure since June 2019.


You may be wondering what price points are seeing the most activity, so let’s take a look.

Below is the percentage of contracts signed by price range:

The mix hasn’t changed that much compared to a year ago, with small gains for the $1-$2 million and $2-$3 million segments. But, if we look over the past three months, we see a shift away from the under $1 million market that is more pronounced.
We expected the lower end of the market to recover first, especially with mortgage rates at record lows. So it shouldn’t be too surprising that some higher prices points are starting to gain back market share as the recovery continues. As you move north of $1 million, there is more inventory and deeper discounts available, which is starting to draw more buyers.


Keep in mind that three months doesn’t necessarily indicate a lasting trend, so we will keep watching this data. The important thing is that the Manhattan apartment market is on the mend, and even though we still have a lot to worry about, we should appreciate how far we’ve come back already.

You can check out all of my musings about the New York City Residential Real Estate Market by heading to my YouTube Page and Subscribing.  Thanks! -Scott

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