New York City has now been in Phase 4 of New York Forward, allowing for all real estate activities with proper social distancing. 

The reality that a vaccine for a majority of our population is likely to happen by mid-Spring gives us hope that “normal” is right around the corner.

I continue to realize that many seem to have received incorrect information about the current state of the New York City real estate market. Contrary to what many might believe, closed prices for homes in Manhattan priced under $1.5 million have dropped by approximately6-8%. On the other hand, for homes priced over $3 million, the discount for those can exceed an eye-popping 20+%. 

Inventory, year over year for December 2020, it is now up 14%, as seen in this chart as of Jan 29, 2021:

while absorption rate is up more than 80% year over year for December 2020, as seen in this chart as of Jan 29, 2021:

So, the simple answer if asked whether NYC is a buyer’s market is “Yes”, and some savvy buyers seem to betaking advantage of the current market. The more detailed answer is that while NYC is a buyer’s market, the discounts on most apartments priced under $1.5million is not as steep as you may believe. However, with mortgage interest rates remaining at 30-40 year lows, there may be no better time than now to buy in Manhattan.

Most importantly, all my loved ones are healthy. I hope and pray the same is true for you.

Best,

Lee