June – 2025 Market Update

The LevinKong Team hopes you are doing well and enjoying the beginning of the season. Summer is here, the July Fourth holiday weekend is upon us, and New Yorkers are taking full advantage of some of their favorite activities. Restaurants, entertainment venues, rooftops, parks, beaches, and all the perks our beloved city offers are in full swing.

Halfway through 2025, we can confidently report that our market has made significant strides in returning to its pre-pandemic form. Outside of a short-lived buying frenzy in 2021, fuelled by historically low interest rates, the Manhattan real estate market had been grappling with a significant headwind, frustrating sellers and confusing buyers. There are many segments of our market where competition and seller leverage are now commonplace. Prime Manhattan locales, Brooklyn, turnkey properties, and the luxury sector are reaping much of this reward.

Pending sales are up 28% in Manhattan and 26% in Brooklyn year-over-year. Over the same period of time, studio condo apartments in Manhattan have benefited from a 72% uptick. Much of the velocity in lower price points has been fueled by cash buyers, often depending on significant parental assistance. At the same time, the four-plus-bedroom condo market is up over 75%. Although vastly improved, the middle of the market has constraints due to its heavy reliance on mortgages. In Brooklyn, all price points have been performing well, but similarly, the top and bottom are outperforming the middle; activity in the studio condo market is up 81% from this time last year and up over 100% in the three-bedroom condo segment.

Manhattan currently has approximately six months of total inventory, which indicates that we are in a neutral market where buyers and sellers are on relatively equal footing. In Brooklyn, there are currently four months of inventory. Here, sellers are in a more enviable position. This trend is even more pronounced in Brooklyn’s most sought-after locales. For instance, there is only one month of condo inventory in Williamsburg, a sign of a hyper-aggressive sellers’ market. The Financial District and Midtown neighborhoods of Manhattan, where the impact of fewer days in office has buyers taking advantage of market dynamics squarely in their favor. Investors are also doing quite well with vacancy rates currently at their historic lows across the city.

With the LevinKong Team by your side, you can confidently navigate the dynamic and intricate real estate market. Our decades of experience and data-driven, research-based approach are your best tools for success in this environment. We’re here to maximize your goals and protect your investments, and we are always available to answer any questions or concerns you may have about the market or complex decisions. Our commitment to your success is unwavering, and we are dedicated to supporting you every step of the way.