Manhattan and Brooklyn home sales slow down in May

Last month, the busy NYC sales market began to calm down. The number of newly signed contracts declined, and the slowing competition among homebuyers allowed more listings to enter the market. 

In Manhattan, new contract signings went down 7 percent for co-ops and increased by only 2 percent for condos compared to May 2021, according to the market report from Miller Samuel. Meanwhile, newly signed contracts for one-to-three family homes jumped nearly 60 percent from last year. However, this change is not as significant when we look at the numbers: 27 homes went into contract in May of this year compared to 17 in the same month last year.  

A similar market dynamic is happening in Brooklyn. The contract signing activity dropped 6.3 percent for co-ops and 6 percent for condos. Newly signed contracts for single and multi-family homes also declined 13.2 percent: from 190 in May 2021 to 165 a year later. The good news is that this slowdown in contract signings led to the much-needed increase in listing inventory.  

New listings in Manhattan grew by nearly 18 percent for condos, almost 80 percent for one-to-three family homes, and only 0.5 percent for co-ops. Jonathan Miller, the author of the report, suggests that this jump in listing inventory comes from the cooling demand from buyers. Fewer people want to buy a home due to the rising borrowing costs. As of June 14, the interest rate for a 30-year loan reached 5.54 percent, according to Bankrate. 

In Brooklyn, inventory went up 12 percent for condos, 34.6 percent for single and multi-family homes, and 1.7 percent for co-ops. This change in new listing inventory could open a “window of opportunity” for buyers, according to the recent blog post from John Walkup, co-founder of UrbanDigs. After nearly two years of bidding wars, buyers might have more power and choice this summer. 

“This has been one of the most intense housing booms in history over the last year and a half or so,” Jonathan Miller told The Real Deal. “The market appears to be beginning to normalize and that is allowing inventory growth to occur.”

Resources:

“Elliman Report: New York New Signed Contracts 5-2022,” (Miller Samuel, 2022)

“New York City Sales Drop as Market Sends ‘Mixed Messages’,” by Virginia K. Smith (Mansion Global, 2022)

“New York market normalizes, new listings flood in,” by Sasha Jones (The Real Deal, 2022)

“More breathing room for buyers? Increase in listings calms frenzied NYC sales market,” by Jennifer White Karp (Brick Underground, 2022)

“A Window of Opportunity for Buyers? 3 Things to Keep an Eye On,” by John Walkup (UrbanDigs Blog, 2022)