Are Manhattan Prices Going Up or Down? Mixed Messages Released This Week
Manhattan (REB's home city, by the way) has been throwing many buyers, sellers and brokers for a loop. Are prices going up or down? Is the market really softening? Can I bid under the asking price or is that still taboo?
This week, several reports were released with conflicting data about the state of the New York City market. I'll break down some of the highlights:
- A report by broker Prudential Douglas Elliman's showed a mean price gain from the first quarter to the second quarter of 6.6 percent, to $1.37 million. The median price gained 6.7 percent, to $880,000.
- A second report, by The Corcoran Group, showed that the mean sales price declined 3 percent in the quarter, to $1.247 million. The median fell 3 percent to $775,000. The Corcoran Group also showed 3 percent declines for the year.
- There were an average of 7,640 apartments listed for sale in the second quarter, from 6,904 the prior quarter and 4,965 a year ago, according to Prudential Douglas Elliman. Time on the market also lengthened, to 144 days - that's six days more than the prior quarter. Corcoran found a similar trend.
- The Mean negotiated discount was 3.5%.
Rising interest rates are causing would-be homebuyers to take a second look at many are opting for rentals. This is causing rents to rise:
- The mean rent reached a whopping $3,970 for leases signed last quarter, up 15 percent in a year. Median rent was $2,900, up 9 percent.
