Manhattan New York Real Estate - Are we in a Buyer's or Seller's Market?

 

If you have been reading the news headlines about the slow-down of the ultra-luxury NYC Real Estate market, it can make you feel slightly confused or even not so optimistic.  

 

If you are an serious buyer search for a fair priced apartments in any of the core Manhattan neighborhoods you may have a far different experience of any signs of slow-down.  Currently we are working with both qualified buyers and serious sellers, so we are seeing what is happening in the market place and have our hands on the pulse of the market.

 

The Real Estate market historically works in cycles... It is important to step back and take a look at where we are in the current cycle. 

Everyone is going to have their own interpretations, although its fairly agreed upon that the market stabilized in or around 2010 after the 2008 crash, so we are in about the 6th year of recovery. 

 

The last few years the price increased aggressively without much of slow down, eclipsing the previous peak pricing in most neighborhoods.  It feels like starting in 2015, the crazy buyer demand started to slow down and now we have entered a more balanced marketplace.  

 

What we observed is that sellers who insisted push the price up higher, finally see the buyers resistances and not offer on the property.  We have seen more price drop for properties that have been on the market for 90 days or longer, sellers now are more open minded regarding accepting offers that are mortgage contingent, something sellers previously would not want to discuss as they were holding out for an all cash buyer.

 

IMPORTANT TO KNOW: We are seeing well priced properties located in prime neighborhoods in Manhattan see a lot of demand.  This is not a buyers market if you are looking in the entry level (Yes, relative to Manhattan) pricing in any of the prime Manhattan neighborhoods.  

 

For example, we recently had a listing for a well renovated one bedroom condominium in a full time doorman condominium in the Lincoln Square neighborhood for just under $1,000,000, we were asking $975,000.  This is a segment of the market where there are very few one bedroom condominiums for less than a million dollars, we had immediate demand from different types of buyers, including owner occupants, investors, and parents buying for their children. 

 

Lincoln Square is a neighborhood where a lot of people want to be. 

We received a handful of offers, some people coming in bidding $100,000 less than the asking price telling us that they will wait it out and see if we are on the market in a month or two, but we also received bids and offers near the asking price, finally selling for $965,000.  This was a price the owner and we felt was extremely fair, a record for the building actually on a price per square foot basis for that layout.  

 

We do see buyers having more choose to from in the luxury to ultra-luxury sector of the market, both from new construction condominiums that are still being built and from resale units of recently closed luxury condos that were bought by investors.  That rush to make a decision has tapered off, as buyers are looking at more and more properties before making a decision.

 

Overall we would say the market is very healthy, with the right expectations a seller is going to get a very good price for their property.  Buyers are purchasing in a marketplace where they might have some more choices than they previously had with the ability to close on what they want.  

 

If you would like to discuss the market for your specific needs, call us so we can have a productive conversation on your interest. Call us at (917)837-8869 today.

 

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Morgan Evans is a Licensed Real Estate salesperson in Manhattan New York specialize in neighborhoods such as: Greenwich Village, Soho, Union Square, Upper East Side, Upper West Side, Chelsea, Midtown West, Midtown East, Nolita, Lower East side, Financial District in Manhattan. Morgan specialize in working with international buyer, high net worth buyers,  parents buying for children and investors buyers. Contact him today by calling (917)837-8869.

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