Manhattan Real Estate Market Faces 'Normalization'

Manhattan’s housing market slowed in 2018, but it remains well above historic levels.

Following several years of aggressive growth, The New York Times reports that Manhattan’s market saw a slowdown partially due to an increase in inventory, particularly in new developments. Buyers became more discerning, bidding wars decreased, and properties stayed on the market for longer, causing some properties to sell below their original asking prices. 

Experts are calling the slowdown a “normalization of the market,” rather than a crash. The average price for a condominium in Manhattan is still 58 percent higher than it was in 2008, according to CityRealty, and the average price per square foot has risen 35 percent.

Over all, the average Manhattan apartment price slid nearly 5 percent from 2017, to $2.06 million from $2.16 million, according to a year-end market report by CityRealty. (The drop would have been steeper without the pricey new-development sales.) Closed transactions for all condos and co-ops were projected to total 10,354, the report said, with sales reaching $21.3 billion. That’s down from the 13,295 transactions and $25.7 billion in sales in 2017.

“The larger story is volume,” Mr. Levy said. “While it’s down, it’s not falling off a cliff.”

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