The market for Manhattan apartments cooled 3% to $2,113,924 from the record breaking $2,180,096 reached last quarter as the pace of luxury new development condominium closings waned. Year-over-year, however, the average sale price and median price per square foot continued to increase, rising 15.3% and 8.5% respectively. The recent softness is evident in days on market which rose 17.65% from 51 to 60 compared to last year.
With the diminishing volume of high end new condos filtering out of the pipeline, the average sales price for condos dropped 7.94% to $2,686,948 from record levels last quarter. The median sales price for condos dropped even further, falling 14.6% to $1,525,000 from last quarter. Despite this quarter over quarter decrease, on a year over year basis the median sale price rose 15%, while price per square foot trends notched a 5.2% gain versus this time last year. The time it took to sell a condo rose 26% to 70 days compared to 50 days last year.
Manhattan co-op prices continued to rise on quarterly basis, with a slight 1% increase compared to the prior quarter. Year over year, however, the average price for a co-op dipped 7.36% to $1,251,077. Co-op median sale prices ticked up slightly both quarter over quarter and year over year, rising 1.32% and 0.59% respectively. Days on market followed the broader trend as co-ops took 11% longer to sell, 56 days, from a year ago.
Looking ahead, we expect overall price trends to be pressured, as the pace of luxury new development closings gradually diminishes and consumers adapt to the new reality of increased inventory. This rising supply is already helping buyers gain leverage, as lower deal volume and higher days on market have dampened seller’s expectations for continual record setting price levels. All in all, as we reach the midway point of 2016, market forces appear to be balanced after years of strongly favoring the sell-side.
