Could this be your new home? Read on for everything you need to know about a “buyers market.” (Getty Images)

Real-estate prices went soaring sky-high in recent years, with the StreetEasy Manhattan Price Index peaking in 2017. But since that peak, price levels in New York, especially in Manhattan, have started to fall as buyers refuse to cough up for what sellers are asking. So the market has pivoted in favor of the buyer, creating what is often referred to as a “buyers market.” You’ll hear it referred to a lot, but what does it really mean? Let us explain.

What Is a Buyers Market?

A buyers market typically occurs when there are more homes for sale than there are shoppers who want to purchase them. And that means buyers have more power in the negotiation than sellers do.

Manhattan 1-2BRs Under $1M Article continues below

Upper West Side

280 West End Avenue

$839,000

1 |

1

Lenox Hill

300 East 62nd Street

$825,000

1 |

1

Lenox Hill

343 East 74th Street

$760,000

1 |

1

Upper West Side

219 West 80th Street

$995,000

2 |

2

Midtown

162 West 56th Street

$925,000

1 |

1

Upper West Side

35 West 92nd Street

$825,000

1 |

1.5

Yorkville

345 East 93rd Street

$885,000

2 |

1

Hell’s Kitchen

305 West 52nd Street

$795,000

1 |

1

Upper West Side

230 Riverside Drive

$980,000

1 |

1

Upper Carnegie Hill

1270 Fifth Avenue

$775,000

2 |

1

Sutton Place

300 East 54th Street

$875,000

1 |

1

Hell’s Kitchen

547 West 47th Street

$985,000

1 |

1

People are calling it a buyers market right now because, since the 2017 peak in the StreetEasy Price Index, housing inventory has started to pile up — in fact, NYC homes stayed on the market for a median of 83 days in the third quarter of 2019, according to our latest data. That’s the longest average length of time since way back in 2012.

“When we look at it statistically, we see a lot of inventory right now, so a lot of choices for buyers,” says Grant Long, StreetEasy’s senior economist. “We also see a lot of sellers making price cuts and units selling below their asking prices. For homes that do sell, we see them spending a longer time on the market before they find a buyer. All of those factors combined create a buyers market.”

What Does a Buyers Market Mean for Me?

Besides having more choices when house-hunting, a buyers market also means shoppers have leverage. According to Debra Shultz, senior mortgage banker at Citizens Bank in Manhattan, “you might be able to negotiate the price down a bit, since there’s typically a lack of competition, versus having to fight tooth-and-nail in a bidding war with a higher offer in a sellers market.”

But regardless of what type of market the real-estate world is experiencing, “there’s no right or wrong time to buy,” says Long. “Buying is entirely a personal choice. The fact that it’s a buyer’s market just makes it more important to be informed and be ready to make a competitive offer.”

Brooklyn 1-2BRs Under $1M Article continues below

Williamsburg

30 Devoe Street

$960,000

1 |

1

Bushwick

226 Stanhope Street

$875,000

1 |

1

Bushwick

87A Cooper Street

$815,000

2 |

2

Downtown Brooklyn

189 Bridge Street

$800,000

1 |

1.5

Stuyvesant Heights

702 Greene Avenue

$949,000

2 |

2

Greenpoint

19 Hausman Street

$850,000

1 |

1

Greenwood

262 17th Street

$999,000

1 |

1

Dyker Heights

1375 70th Street

$788,000

2 |

2

Bensonhurst

1624 73rd Street

$850,000

2 |

2

Park Slope

130 8th Avenue

$800,000

1 |

1

Bath Beach

69 Bay 20th Street

$773,000

2 |

1.5

Bushwick

12 Lawton Street

$775,000

2 |

1.5

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Inspired to find your next place in New York? Whether you’re looking to rent or to buy, search NYC apartments on StreetEasy.