Slowing growth in sale prices and longer days on the market are the key themes that characterize the Brooklyn and Manhattan real estate markets in July. The sales markets in both boroughs are settling back into a 2012 state, which is much calmer in comparison to the frenzied pace of the past three years. Though prices are still climbing, sellers will need to continue to level expectations amid a less competitive market, while buyers have the opportunity to negotiate asking prices down even further amid slowing price growth and homes spending more time on the market.
See below for more details about key themes from StreetEasy’s July 2016 Market Reports.
Manhattan and Brooklyn Sales Prices See Smallest Increase Since 2012
- As reported by the StreetEasy Price Index, Manhattan’s median resale price was $994,458 in July 2016, up 2 percent since last year and the slowest pace of price growth since April 2012.
- Upper Manhattan continued to exceed price growth in all other Manhattan submarkets, with an annual increase of 5.9 percent. The Downtown submarket experienced the slowest growth, increasing 0.6 percent year-over-year.
- Brooklyn’s median resale price was $563,416 in July 2016, up 4.7 percent since last year and the slowest annual growth since October 2012.
- Prospect Park was the only submarket with negative growth, down 2 percent since July 2015, while East Brooklyn had the most price growth at 10.7 percent.
- East Brooklyn continues to dominate price growth in the borough, remaining the only submarket across Manhattan and Brooklyn to experience double-digit annual price growth at 10.7 percent.
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Homes Take Longer to Sell in July, Providing Buyers With a Bargaining Chip
- Manhattan homes sold in a median of 62 days, up 13 days from last year.
- Homes in the Midtown submarket sat on the market the longest in July, going into contract in a median of 68 days, an increase of 10 days from last year.
- Homes in the Upper West Side submarket moved the fastest at a median of 54 days, an increase of 18 days since last year.
- Brooklyn homes moved slightly faster, selling in a median of 53 days, up nine days from last year.
- Northwest Brooklyn sales moved slowly at a median of 58 days.
- Homes in East Brooklyn went into contract the fastest in a median of 44 days – almost a month faster than this time last year.
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Brooklyn Sellers Received Larger Share of Asking Prices Than Manhattan Sellers in July
- In Brooklyn, the median sale-to-list price ratio was 100 percent, meaning Brooklyn sellers typically received all of their initial asking price in July.
- In Manhattan, sellers received a median of 97.7 percent of their asking price, whereas they received 100 percent in July 2015.
- Falling prices in the Prospect Park submarket fueled a particularly competitive month for the area, standing out as the only submarket where sellers received more than their asking price in July (102.9 percent).
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12-Month Outlook:
According to the StreetEasy Price Forecasts, resale price growth in both boroughs will continue to slow over the next 12 months. Price growth in Manhattan is expected to increase 1.3 percent to $1,007,169. Growth will continue to be led by Upper Manhattan with a price increase of 4.1 percent, though Upper Manhattan will remain the borough’s least expensive submarket with a price forecast of $665,998. Sales prices in the Upper West Side submarket are predicted to remain essentially flat over the next 12 months, with a forecast of just 0.1 percent. Brooklyn’s median resale price is expected to increase 3.9 percent to $585,398, led by North Brooklyn at 6.7 percent growth. East Brooklyn is predicted to have the least growth at 0.4 percent, while Prospect Park’s median resale price is expected to grow 2.8 percent.
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