The Manhattan sales market has slowed. Compared to last year, contracts signed in May, June and July have fallen by an average of 25%. New York markets reflect what is happening in other parts of the country, according to data firm Black Knight, which released a report that revealed that 97 of the 100 largest real estate markets experienced a slowdown or increase in prices in the past six months. However, prices are unlikely to plummet in part, because inventory remains low and there are more people who want homes than houses to buy.
Ryan said that when sellers now price their ads, they can't use prices comparable to those at the beginning of the year. Your home may stay on the market for a few weeks and, if it's priced well, it will sell for around the sale price, which will be more than you would have earned a year ago. Not surprisingly, real estate agents, who earn their income from selling homes, are optimistic about buying now, arguing that, for the first time in a long time, buyers could get a deal. But after a period of ultra-low mortgage rates, a stock market frenzy, and sellers were finally realistic with prices, the current sales rate is only three and a half years, a notable change for a once-inflated market.
Sellers who ignore this dynamic and choose to list with a price based on recently closed sales, which are more of a reflection of the market from six months ago, will find it frustrating. On Long Island, excluding North Fork and the Hamptons, contracts signed for single-family homes in June fell 21 percent to 2,111 from a year ago, and fell at all prices. A price equal to or close to the market should generate adequate buyer traffic for the season for the first two weeks after the announcement, leading to an agreement being signed before the area's usual market days. Miller Samuel CEO Jonathan Miller lays out the bad news for real estate agents in his monthly report for Douglas Elliman, but the data simply shows what everyone has felt on the ground.
Today's sellers need to close the gap between lagging sales prices and real-time sales prices if they want to close a deal. Along with financial buyers concerned about financial markets, technology and venture capital workers and executives in Manhattan are also withdrawing their real estate investments, fearing layoffs and cost cuts. As the market cools, it could return to a situation that resembles pre-pandemic normality, with homes that take a few months to sell and prices that gradually increase. In other words, half of the sellers who signed an agreement left with 98.1% of the original sales price.
Sellers tend to focus on recent sales prices, while buyers are more interested in current sales prices.
