May Market Update

The LevinKong Team hopes that you enjoyed the holiday weekend and the kickoff of the summer season. In New York City, we welcome the warm weather and all the amazing outdoor activities that we look forward to all winter long. Seasonally, we typically see a slowdown in the summer months, but with lower than normal inventory levels, we expect to have an active season ahead as buyers who lost out in the spring look to finally secure property this summer.

Rising interest rates and macroeconomic forces cooled the market in April, but we saw an uptick in May as buyers adjusted to this new normal. In Manhattan, we witnessed a monthly uptick in pending sales of 6.4%, but this was down 7% from last year’s frenzied sales pace. Brooklyn has continued to be a juggernaut, showing little sign of a slowdown. Brooklyn experienced a 5% month-over-month and 7% year-over-year increase in pending activity.

Both markets have seen modest gains in inventory, which is a welcome development for buyers. In Brooklyn, supply is still down more than 20% from last year, however it is up approximately 9% from last month. For Manhattan, supply is down 11% from this time last year but up over 10% from last month. This would typically signal a shifting market. Price-per-square-feet are up in both markets though; 12% year-over-year in Manhattan and 7% in Brooklyn.

We do foresee a measured cooling off in market conditions. This shouldn’t be as profound as it will be in many housing markets across the county, where unsustainable meteoric price appreciation over the last two years was commonplace. The fact that New York’s market was sidelined at the beginning of the pandemic should prove to be a benefit in the long run. Additionally, investors are taking note of one of the tightest and best performing rental markets we have experienced citywide in the history of this type of data collection.

With proper guidance, there are many ways to take advantage of this dynamic and intricate market. More than ever, a data-driven, research-based approach, rooted in decades of experience, will equip our clients to thrive in this environment. Please stay safe and let us know if we can answer any questions you may have about the market, or how best to navigate complicated decisions.