In New York real estate, the tides are turning for buyers! According to a report from UrbanDigs, September was the best month for buyers since the pandemic rocked the market in the spring of 2020. High interest rates are still deterring some from entering the market, so active shoppers have more room to breathe and negotiate without as much competition as we had been seeing in the last couple of years.
While new listings fell year over year for the 15th time throughout the City, the rate of decline is slowing. And month over month, new listings in September more than doubled from August in both Manhattan and Brooklyn. The number of active listings is also running a little higher than expected seasonal norms, so experts are optimistic the market is headed for a rebound instead of the collapse some have been anticipating.
Manhattan’s luxury market started September with a slightly above-average week with 18 contracts signed for homes asking $4 million or more. That matched the number from the previous week, which is typically slow because of holiday travel. Near the end of the month, luxury transactions fell to a three-year low with just eight contracts signed in week three, but quickly rebounded, closing the month on a weekly high with 20 signed contracts. During the last week of September, the average asking price also jumped to $8 million, up from $5.7 million just two weeks prior. Of the 20 homes to ink deals that last week, 16 were condos.
Condos have also been making significant moves in Brooklyn. Marketproof projects that if long-term trends hold, the outer borough could surpass Manhattan in new condo sales in roughly five years. It appears to be a matter of available inventory and attractive pricing that’s pushing Brooklyn to the forefront of the condo market. In Manhattan, the asking price for new condos averages $1,737 per square foot compared to $1,249 in Brooklyn. Despite slogging through the month, activity in the borough’s luxury market peaked during the week of September 18 with 14 contracts signed for homes asking $2 million or more.
In Westchester, newly signed contracts have slipped annually for the 27th straight month. New listings have declined year over year at a similar pace, which is keeping the market tight. Some developers are looking to address the issue of available inventory through a rezoning request of what used to be The Galleria in White Plains. The proposed site would include up to 3,200 new apartments and is a perfect example of the growing trend of mall owners adding residential components to their properties in the wake of the decline of the traditional shopping mall.
There is no shortage of buyers in Miami. “Messi fever”—the combined influence of soccer star Lionel Messi and pop-culture events like Formula One and the World Cup—continues to drive buyers to the area, particularly from Mexico and Latin America. Even still, newly signed contracts slipped annually for the 20th consecutive month. New listings expanded year over year for the first time since August 2022, but buyers still can’t seem to get enough. Luxury buyers in particular are keeping waterfront inventory very tight across the county.