Manhattan Property Prices Down to 2015 Levels

Overseas property investors interested in Manhattan property will be pleased to hear that prices are down to levels last seen in 2015.

Power in the New York real estate market is starting to lean more toward buyers, with prices of houses in Manhattan falling to their lowest point since October of 2015.

According to the latest market report from StreetEasy, a significant bump in the number of houses for sale is forcing sellers to accept lower offers.

Grant Long, a senior economist for StreetEasy, said: ‘The combination of a ton of new homes on the market and potential buyers holding out for better deals has shifted the market dynamic in Manhattan further in favour of buyers.’

Property sellers are finding it harder to stand out in a deepening pool of available houses, according to the findings from StreetEasy.

Inventory in Manhattan saw the smallest jump of the three boroughs measured, with only an 18 per cent increase, totalling 1,400 homes going up for sale.

By comparison, the number of homes for sale in Queens increased by 35 per cent, but despite rising real estate prices in Queens, home sales increased by more than ten per cent over November last year.

However, despite the Manhattan market leaning towards buyers, rental demand is still strong. Rent increased across the board in all three boroughs that StreetEasy studied, with the exception of North Brooklyn.

Long explained: ‘We’ve already started to see the rental market shift over the last few months. While rent increases typically slow this time of year, they’re continuing to rise across Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, as more buyers get cold feet and decide to remain as renters. That’s putting even more pressure on the city’s already-burdened rental market.’

Commensurate with the increased rents, the percentage of landlords offering rent concessions fell significantly across all boroughs, meaning that lease-seekers were much less likely to see rents reduced from advertised rates.

It seems that this new year could be an opportunity for overseas property investors to break into the Manhattan property market at a discount price, and still enjoy strong rental demand.