Manhattan Co-ops Outperformed Condos in Third-Quarter Sales

In a surprising role reversal, Manhattan co-ops outperformed condos in newly released third-quarter sales figures. The median sales price for Manhattan co-ops rose year over year to a new record after falling annually for the past three quarters. It increased 2.8% to $875,000, even as the number of sales fell year over year by 25.1%, Brick Underground reports. Meanwhile, the median sales price for condos dropped 1.1% to $1.6 million.

Low inventory is the key factor, says Jonathan Miller, president and CEO of appraisal firm Miller Samuel and author of the Elliman Report. “This is the same condition as the U.S. housing market," Miller adds. "The lack of supply has helped records occur in random markets like co-ops.”

The median sales price for combined Manhattan co-op and condos fell again in the third quarter, but the drop was not as steep as prior quarters, a sign that prices are “stabilizing.”

The latest edition of the Elliman Report finds that the median sales price for co-ops and condos fell year over year for the fourth consecutive quarter, to $1,150,000 from $1,154,625 in the third quarter of 2022, a slight drop of .4%. In contrast, the median sales price for Manhattan co-ops and condos fell 4% in the second quarter year over year, 9.7% in the first quarter, and 5% in the fourth quarter of 2022.

This price stabilization is occurring as listings continue to drop, the report notes, which helps boost demand. Listings were down 6.1% from the third quarter last year, as would-be sellers remained wedded to their existing low mortgage rates. With mortgage rates near 8%, sellers are reluctant to part with their properties if they need to borrow to buy somewhere else.

Bess Freedman, CEO of Brown Harris Stevens, says in her firm’s report that the Manhattan co-op and condos “had a decent third quarter, especially considering the surge in mortgage rates that began in May.” She notes that higher mortgage rates have depressed the number of sales, but not necessarily prices: "Both the average and median resale prices were higher than a year ago."