{September 2020} Who Is Buying in NYC Now?
September is typically one of the busiest months for NYC real estate market. But nothing is typical in this crazy year. September feels the same as August, July and June. Busy for sure, but for the amount of buyers and sellers we are working with, there should have been more transactions. I get daily inquiries from buyers, asking if this is the right time to buy in NYC. I tell them both prices and mortgage rates are at their lowest since 2015, but the market is still under the heavy weight of two uncertainties: a vaccine and an acrimonious political environment. However, against this backdrop, we still have more listings going into contract in September 2020 than Sep 2019, Sep 2018 or Sep 2017 (but we have also had more inventory coming onto the market then the previous years). During this time of great difficulty, it’s the New Yorkers who are believing in the future of NYC and putting down roots. Out of the nearly two dozen sales I have done since COVID, almost all are New Yorkers buying to live here themselves. I am proud of us. New York City gave me my career and my family. It pains me to read about the naysayers dumping on my beloved city. But we are going to turn this around. Imagine the market when the investors return.
Good Read
The wheels of the luxury condo market started to creak in 2017 and eventually fell off the wagon in 2018 2019. Some sign of life seems to be back, although it is still far from a consistent trend.
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.