Key Takeaways:
- The NYC sales market saw a strong start to the new year, with a sharp 10.7% jump in the number of homes going into contract.
- The citywide median asking price declined 2.1% year-over-year, and the median price of homes entering contract fell 3.7% to $890K.
- Recently listed homes in key Manhattan neighborhoods are more affordable than a year ago, as new sellers strategically set prices.
- Heightened buyer competition is fueling price growth in Brooklyn, with median asking prices topping $1M in 34 neighborhoods — the most on record.
- While mortgage rates will likely stay elevated throughout the year, less volatility should help buyers and sellers better plan their finances, leading to increasing transactions.
Though mortgage rates averaged nearly 7% in January, the number of homes entering contract continued to rise in New York City. The month saw 1,598 new home contracts, a 5.2% decline from December but a 10.7% year-over-year increase. Fewer homes typically enter contract in December and January following the winter holidays, but new contracts tend to pick back up from February through April as buyers resume their searches. Therefore, the higher starting point compared to a year ago bodes well for the spring housing market this year.
As more homes go under contract, inventory is declining in NYC. The total number of homes on the market fell to 14,840 units, a 3.5% year-over-year decline. Meanwhile, sellers appear more willing to participate, as 3,020 homes were newly listed in January: a solid 12.6% increase from January of last year. That said, the pace of sales since September 2024 has been robust, creating a growing hole in NYC’s inventory that the recent rise in new listings has been unable to fill.
Despite resilient buyer demand, the sales market remains balanced. There was no strong increase in the price point of homes new to the market in January, as the median price of homes entering contract fell 3.8% year-over-year to $890,000. Successful sellers have been more strategic with their pricing, needing to accommodate buyers with limited room in their budgets amid elevated mortgage rates. As buyers and sellers converged on prices, the median sale-to-list ratio also rose to 95.9% from 95.3% a year ago.
Manhattan Homes Under $1.5M on StreetEasy Article continues below
Manhattan’s Median Asking Price Fell as Recent Sellers Strategically Priced Their Homes
The citywide median asking price declined 2.1% year-over-year to $1.075M in January. On the borough level, it declined more substantially in Manhattan but rose in Brooklyn and Queens. At $1.55M, the median asking price of homes in Manhattan was 6.3% below a year ago, likely related to strategic pricing by sellers joining the market more recently. Of the top 10 neighborhoods where the median asking price of new listings has declined the most year-over-year, eight are in Manhattan.
Greenwich Village was one of the five most-searched neighborhoods on StreetEasy last year. This year, buyers can find freshly listed homes at a lower price point compared to a year ago. Since November, 100 more homes have joined the market in Greenwich Village with a median asking price of $1.6M — a 31% decline from a year ago — suggesting emerging opportunities for those with the budget.
None of these 10 neighborhoods were in Brooklyn — unsurprising considering Brooklyn was the most competitive market last fall. Amid heightened competition among buyers, the median asking price in Brooklyn was $1.1M in January, up 4.8% year-over-year. There are now 34 neighborhoods in the borough with median asking prices above $1M, the most on record. In January 2024, there were 28 neighborhoods in Brooklyn with a $1M+ median asking price.
Over in Queens, asking prices have been increasing, as condos — often priced at a premium over co-ops — gradually take a larger share of the market. The median asking price of all homes in Queens was $700,000 in January, 12.0% higher than a year ago. While co-ops are still the most common type of property in the borough, the market share of condos is rising as new developments continue to enter the market. In January, condos made up 26% of the inventory in Queens, while 42% were co-ops. One year later, the share of condos rose to 34%, while that of co-ops declined to 38%.
Brooklyn Homes Under $1.5M on StreetEasy Article continues below
Co-ops Are Looking More Attractive to Both Buyers and Sellers
The inventory of available co-ops has been declining across the city, with elevated mortgage rates disincentivizing homeowners from listing their properties. In January, 5,705 co-ops were on the market, a 6.3% decline from a year ago — continuing a trend of annually declining co-op inventory since July 2021. By contrast, condo inventory has been on the rise due to the increasing share of new developments. More flexible financing rules and simpler application processes for buyers also helped condo owners market their homes even in a challenging market. There were 5,939 condos on the market in January, up 3.0% year-over-year. As a result, there have been more condos on the market than co-ops since July 2024.
Amid persistently high mortgage rates, co-ops may look more attractive to buyers this year. Despite the burdensome approval process, co-ops have substantially lower price points for similar square footage compared to condos. In January, the median asking price per square foot (PPSF) was $526 for co-ops in NYC, compared to $1,453 for condos. Despite recent declines in inventory, the median PPSF for co-ops fell 4.9% from a year ago. We expect co-ops to make a comeback this year as buyers adapt to record-high costs — one of our NYC housing market predictions for 2025. With the declining inventory of co-ops in the city, owners looking to sell this year are likely well-positioned to do so.
Co-ops in Queens continue to offer more space per dollar than Manhattan and Brooklyn, making the borough attractive to buyers with limited budgets. The median asking price of co-ops with two bedrooms in Queens was $425,000, lower than $1.25M in Manhattan and $465,000 in Brooklyn. For one-bedroom co-ops, the median asking price was $308,000 in Queens, $695,000 in Manhattan, and $340,000 in Brooklyn.
Queens Homes Under $1M on StreetEasy Article continues below
What to Expect This Spring
Resilient buyer demand and increased seller participation have kept the balance split between buyers and sellers since last fall. A better alignment in price expectations, as signaled by the narrowing gap between initial asking price and final sale price, has helped buyers and sellers come together — a positive development in the NYC sales market. However, the pace of new contracts over the past few months has been much stronger than new listings joining the market, leading to annual declines in total inventory.
From here on, the mortgage rate outlook holds the NYC market in a tenuous balance. While much is unknown about the exact trajectory, mortgage rates will likely stay elevated this year. Inflation has proven to be more persistent than expected, and the Federal Reserve stands ready to act depending on the changing economic outlook. A sharp jump in mortgage rates would keep additional buyers on the sidelines, leading to cooler competition in NYC. While less likely, a sharp drop in rates would push the market in favor of sellers by rekindling competition for homes.
What’s different this year compared to other years since the pandemic is that buyers and sellers have had more time to adjust to high mortgage rates. Despite frequent ups and downs, the magnitude of change in mortgage rates has been declining. In 2024, mortgage rates changed by 0.23 percentage points each month on average — half the average change of 0.45pp in 2022, when the Fed began raising interest rates to fight inflation. Stable mortgage rates help buyers and sellers plan their finances even when the current market appears challenging. As such, we expect transactions to continue to rise this year in NYC, meaning more opportunities for both buyers and sellers.
StreetEasy is an assumed name of Zillow, Inc. which has a real estate brokerage license in all 50 states and D.C. See real estate licenses. StreetEasy does not intend to interfere with any agency agreement you may have with a real estate professional or solicit your business if you are already under contract to purchase or sell property. All data for uncited sources in this presentation has been sourced from Zillow data. Copyright © 2025 by Zillow, Inc. and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
