2013 Q2 Manhattan Market Report

 

Good Morning!

The 2013 Q2 (April through June) Manhattan real estate market reports are out and one thing is clear: the market is strong. According to StreetEasy.com, 4,185 purchase contracts were signed in the 2^nd quarter, up 22 percent from one year ago. That’s the highest volume since StreetEasy.com began tracking this data in 2007.

That’s not the only sign of a robust market. The New York Times reports that in Q2, properties were on the market for 103 days, on average, a decrease of about 18 percent from one year ago. Additionally, sellers are getting about 98 percent of the listing price.

Despite historically low levels of inventory, sales are robust. Bloomberg, for example, reports inventory declines of nearly one-third, some of the lowest levels in over a decade.

The low inventory levels are being driven partly by the fact that some owners continue to wait to list their properties until their equity has climbed back up. In addition, there’s been a lack of new construction since the 2008 credit crisis. The new development that is in the pipeline is weighted heavily to luxury properties. Industry observers expect, therefore, that mid-market buyers will continue to face a tight market for some time.

While buyer demand and limited inventory makes for a “seller’s market,” the reports show that prices aren’t soaring. Instead Crain’s New York Business reports that prices are up 13.6 percent for condos, year over year, but the median price for co-ops is flat.

While interest from international, all-cash buyers has driven some price increases in condos, overall, tight credit and rising mortgage rates are keeping a check on rising prices. In addition, the Manhattan market has a lot of savvy buyers who resist over-buying.

In these market circumstances, sellers who price appropriately can reasonably expect to sell in a timely way and at a very acceptable price. It’s best for sellers to be aware, however, that buyers are still cautious and credit can be an issue. Accurate pricing continues to remain key.

I’d be happy to discuss these reports and Manhattan’s real estate picture in greater detail per your specific needs. 
SOURCES

http://www.cnbc.com/id/100860538

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-07-02/manhattan-home-prices-climb-in-busiest-spring-since-2007.html

 

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20130702/REAL_ESTATE/130709981

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/02/nyregion/manhattan-apartment-sales-increase-despite-reduced-inventory.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://nymag.com/realestate/realestatecolumn/standard-and-poor-downgrade-2011-9/

New York Exceptionalism

American debt has been downgraded. Has Manhattan real estate? A data-driven review.

• By S.Jhoanna Robledo

• Published Sep 18, 2011

We know the eurozone is barely hanging on, job reports are terrible, and nobody’s hiring. What we don’t know—because it typically takes a few months to become evident—is what all of this means for New York real estate. Is this a moment to buy? To sell? To panic-sell? In the weeks after the Standard & Poor’s downgrade, we asked a wide range of brokers, analysts, and executives to size things up. As you’d expect, they more or less fell into two camps—the ups and the downs—but their opinions tended to funnel down to one conclusion.

From the optimists: “In my opinion, we’ve already come off the bottom,” declares Barbara Corcoran, founder of the Corcoran Group and commentator for the T­oday show. She says newcomers are still pouring in, especially from China and Brazil, and that those wealthy buyers are indifferent to the downturn. She’s backed up by Victor Calanog, chief economist at the analytics firm Reis, who’s seeing “large transactions that seem to defy gravity.” (A penthouse just sold on First Avenue—that’s First, not Fifth—for $11.025 million.)

Read the full story here:   http://nymag.com/realestate/realestatecolumn/standard-and-poor-downgrade-2011-9/