Manhattan Apartment Prices Continue to Drop: Halstead
The median cost has remained unchanged from quarter four of 2017 but dropped 1 percent from the previous year, according to the company's most recent report.
Average and median apartment sales
Average apartment prices in Manhattan have fallen year-over-year by 8 percent, dropping to an average price of $2 million due to development closings having decreased by 30 percent. The median price has remained unchanged from quarter four of 2017 but dropped 1 percent from the previous year, according to Halstead‘s First Quarter 2018 Market Report, based on 1,909 first quarter reported apartment sales, 12 percent less than last year’s comparable.
“Average apartment prices decreased in the first quarter of the year due to a sharp decline in new development closings, but this does not tell the whole story of the market,” said Diane Ramirez, chairman & CEO of Halstead. “After a slow end to 2017, luxury resale closings picked up steam with sellers adjusting to current market conditions. Deeper discounts were offered in response to rising inventory and the tax reform’s impact on the tax benefits of home ownership. We expect resale prices to continue this upward momentum through the rest of 2018.”
Development closings higher than $10 million are 62 percent lower than a year previous, due to a decline in luxury sales. New development average prices dropped 24 percent to $3.3 million, whereas the middle of the market declined 11 percent, a smaller decrease compared to the first quarter of 2017.
Resale Prices
Resale cooperatives and condominiums
Resale apartment prices have risen to a record of 12 percent, or $1.7 million in the first quarter, as sales over $5 million rose 25 percent year-over-year, despite both the average and median new development prices lowering. Co-op prices rose 16 percent from the first quarter of 2017 to $1.4 million. The average price of condos declined due to the decrease in development closings, averaging $2.8 million, which was 13 percent lower than the previous year. However, the condo resale prices increased to $2.3 million, increasing 11 percent year-over-year.
The highest percentage of resales in Manhattan was on the East Side at 22.9 percent and Downtown, south of 14th Street at 20.7 percent. Apartments sold during the first quarter spent an average of 95 days on the market, down slightly from a year ago, but 6 percent higher than quarter four of 2017. Buyers paid on average 97.4 percent of the last asking price for the apartments, down from 97.6 percent in the first quarter of last year.
Charts courtesy of Halstead
