The Manhattan sales market continued to see record prices, elevated sales, and modest resale inventory growth. Entering 2016, the median resale price in Manhattan grew 5.3 percent from last January to $991,468 continuing a steady decline in annual price growth since the heady months of the first half of 2014. Furthermore, the median resale price in Manhattan will grow by 4.1 percent to $1,032,128 by January 2017 according to the StreetEasy Price Indices. A few key trends for New York’s real estate market in Q1 include:

·         Average price per square foot jumped 35%, also reaching a 27 year record.

·         Average Sales Price Set New Record – average sales price of a Manhattan apartment exceeded the $2,000,000 mark for the first time in history.

·         New Development Median Sales Price Surged 60% – As projects completions ramped up and super luxury contracts signed a few years ago were able to close, the New Development media sales hit a record of $2,606,720.

·         Re-sale Median Price Increased 7.3% - Compared to a year before, re-sales increased and reached $950,000 at the end of first quarter.

·         There is concern with oversupply in the luxury market and velocity of sales in new developments appears to have slowed from record highs from previous years

Brooklyn, one of the most desirable residential boroughs in New York City, has seen continued growth. This quarter:

·         The sales prices of townhouses averaged $2.751 million, an increase of 5.4 percent from the previous year and 4.1 percent from the previous quarter.

·         Median townhouse prices increased to $2.5 million, and the trend is expected to roll through the year.

·         Areas like Crown Heights and Bed-Stuy have sales prices that are lower relative to the rest of Brooklyn, according to StreetEasy data scientist Alan Lightfeldt, attracting more prospective buyers “as housing and retail options there have experienced a rapid transformation.” As buyers and renters are priced out of the majority of Manhattan and now parts of Brooklyn, they’re looking farther north into Queens and further east into Brooklyn in search of affordability,” Lightfeldt said.

Meanwhile, after rising for 24 consecutive months, the median monthly rent for a Manhattan apartment dropped 2.8 percent in March to $3,300 from $3,395 a year ago.

SOURCES FOR LETTER

http://streeteasy.com/blog/january-2016-market-report/

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20160401/REAL_ESTATE/160339959/another-sign-the-luxury-condo-market-is-cooling

http://therealdeal.com/2016/04/01/the-average-manhattan-apartment-now-costs-over-2m/

http://ny.curbed.com/2016/4/1/11345882/average-cost-of-manhattan-apartment

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-01/manhattan-apartment-prices-top-2-million-while-condo-glut-looms

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/17/realestate/sweeter-deals-for-new-york-renters.html