Old Man Winter Chills Manhattan Condo Market
Feb. 27, 2015 — Just a little more than a month ago, a penthouse at One57 sold for $100 million, setting a new city record. But just as many real estate experts predicted, condo sales slowed down — and winter hasn't helped any. Only 310 Manhattan condos went into contract in January, representing a 6.3 percent decline in pending sales from December and the lowest monthly total in three years. Median time on market for condos jumped from 19 days in December to 82 days, the longest time on market since February 2013.
The seasonal slowdown kept Manhattan condo inventory and sales volumes low in January, while condo sales prices remain high — nearly 9 percent higher than this time last year, according to the StreetEasy Condo Price Index. However, the rate of price growth has been consistently decelerating over the last year, signaling that the condo market is slowly returning to a more sustainable pace, according to the January 2015 StreetEasy Manhattan Condo Market Report.
"Everything in Manhattan slows down in the dead of winter, the real estate market included," said StreetEasy data scientist, Alan Lightfeldt. "Buyers seemed to be in no rush to close on properties in January, with condos lingering on the market for a full 19 days longer than December. As the spring selling season in March approaches, we expect the warmer weather to send an anticipated boost in inventory and sales volume."
Looking ahead to spring, condo sales prices are expected to grow by 4.9 percent in 2015, considerably less than the 2014 growth rate of 8.3 percent and roughly a third of the 2013 growth rate of 16.6 percent, according to the StreetEasy Condo Price Forecast. Slowing condo price growth is indicative of a healthier market.
Click here to view the full report and additional analysis from Lightfeldt.
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