For a market that was hit significantly in the earlier year due to the pandemic, the fourth quarter record home sales in Manhattan marked a comeback year for the real estate market.
Closed purchases of Condos and co-ops totaled 3559 for the quarter ended December 2021. The sale was the highest in more than 30 years, as per data provided by brokerage Douglas Elliman Real Estate and appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. The median price of apartments sold rose to $1.17 million, up by 11% from the previous year.
The fourth quarter was the best in 30 years for apartment purchases. After many fled to the suburbs in 2020, the NewYorkers were drawn back to the city after opening restaurants, shops, Broadway, and growth in vaccination rates, leading to an increase in home sales. Companies made plans to bring back employees to the office when though there was a rise in Covid-19 cases. The strong demand helped to chip away the mountain of property listings.
According to the president of Miller Samuel Inc., Jonathan Miller, they will watch the average sales for several quarters, which will help bring down the inventory levels. One thing that differentiated the Manhattan market from the rest in the country was that it was late to the real estate boom earlier, and the city took off only at the beginning of 2021.
As per a report from Miller Samuel, the inventory was 6207 homes at the end of December, down by 25% from the earlier year and the most significant reduction in seven years. The supply is higher, just below the late 2019 levels, and more elevated than pre-Covid-19 averages.
As per Bloomberg news, the bidding wars saw a rise, with around 9.2% of the deals closing above the asking price. This was the highest since 2018, as per data from Miller Samuel.
The rising prices and tightening inventories may affect sales in the future. However, 2022 looks like another good year, asper Bess Freedman, the CEO of Brown HarrisStevens, a brokerage firm that released its report on homes sales in Manhattan Tuesday.
According to Freedman, the return of foreign buyers, incredible bonuses on Wall Street, and a new mayor are all good news and bodes well, even though the higher mortgage rates and high pricing could slow down things.
