Prices Are Down 12% in 2018. What Would 2019 Bring?
A colleague who had been in the industry for 20 years said to me she was more bored in 2018 than 2008. Maybe “bored” wasn’t the right word she had intended. Most of us were busier but closed less deals in 2018. Compared to 2017, 20% more listings hit the market but 5% less deals got done in 2018. The average monthly median $/sqft dropped 12% to $1388/sqft from $1580/sqft in 2017 (condo and coop in Manhattan). The peak of this cycle was 2015. Paces slowed down in 2016 and 2017 but the sellers really threw in the towel this year. At 12% down, there was decent support in the market. What would 2019 bring? The market is over-supplied now with the Absorption Rate at a high of almost 10 months. Many sellers are still stuck with the mentality that they couldn’t sell below their neighbors’ print. I believe if every listing was 12% lower, the Absorption Rate would be well below 10 months. I am relieved to bid 2018 goodbye. Equity markets at their lows, government shutdown with no end in sight, the trade dispute, etc. We bear the consequences of our collective actions. But 2018 also ignited great hopes. Hopefully as the law of equilibrium goes, when things are so low, the only way to go is up!
May 2019 bring you prosperity, peace and joy!
The big momentum we saw in January slowed down in March, as the expectation of rate cuts dimmed. It was as if the subset of buyers who were rushing to take advantage of the window where prices were still low and rates were still high, had done what they needed to do and the market slowly came back to the slower pace of 2023.
February was a little busier than January, which was busier than all of 2023. It felt that spring was in the air after a long winter for the New York real estate market.
2024 started with a busy tone for the New York City real estate market. For all of 2023, we said to our buyers that “you marry the price but not the rate”, meaning now was a good time to buy because it’s a buyer’s market and prices were negotiable.
The real estate market in NYC saw about 15% more transactions in December 2023 than a year ago in December 2022. Is it a telltale sign that the real estate prices will recover in 2024? Prices haven’t moved but more buyers have come off the sidelines and jumped into the market to start the search.
Rates came down from their highs. Wall Street debated how soon and how much the Fed would cut rates next year.
Compared to last May, before rates started to rise (does anyone still remember those days?!) prices were now down about 11%. Transaction volumes were down 40%. Inventory was up almost 60%.
The NYC real estate market is at an interesting crossroad. On the one hand, we feel a lot of pent-up demand from buyers who have been watching and waiting for rates to go down.