It looks set for a rebound
The New York City market will see improvement this year amid falling mortgage rates, according to a new report.
While an election year suffuses it with some uncertainty, the Coldwell Banker Warburg report noted,
overall, better times are seen ahead for the key market. The report found that some areas of the market performed well last year despite the pressure points: Tribeca, for instance, remains a prime target neighborhood for many, and parts of Brooklyn have emerged as market hot spots. Sales of properties priced at more than $4 million are also on the rise again.
Trends identified throughout the Big Apple
The report broke down those trends with greater detail:
- The ZIP code for Tribeca, 10013, remained the priciest in New York City, driven primarily by its inventory of ultra-high-end condominiums. The report found that the Upper East Side – once the city’s bastion of wealth and privilege offering mostly co-ops – lost some of its appeal to young entrepreneurs given the fact that most co-op apartments need renovation, which in today’s world can add millions to the price and years to the timeframe.
- In terms of hot spots, Brooklyn remained popular amid higher prices relative to market-peak 2016 numbers.
- Manhattan sales of homes at $4 million and over crept up again in the latter half of the fourth quarter, according to the Olshan Report. These larger deals slumped during August, September, and October: the average number of sales per week between Aug. 7 and Oct. 30 was 16, while between Nov. 1 and Dec. 18 (counting Thanksgiving as a half week), it hit 21.
“Looking forward into 2024, we project that the easing of mortgage costs will
continue, although they will not sink close to the rates many consumers became accustomed to during the decade that ended in 2021,” researchers wrote. “Hopefully, there will be an increase in properly priced inventory as serious sellers continue to recognize that optimistic pricing yields no results. The wars in Ukraine and the Middle East seem poised to continue into much of 2024, even as the bitterly contested presidential election draws closer.”
Investors are urged to curb their enthusiasm
Researchers warned not to expect a complete turnaround in the market as compared to last year but temper their enthusiasm: “Do not look to 2024 as a year of buoyant price increases,” researchers wrote “But there will continue to be pockets of real opportunity, most particularly in co-ops or more peripheral neighborhoods, for buyers ready to make a purchasing decision.”
Far from being in a moribund state, it’s still the city that never sleeps.
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